Delhi University to Scrap ‘Special Chance’ Provision for Degree Completion

The University of Delhi has decided to scrap the ‘special chance’ provision that provides the students with extra stipulated time to complete their degrees in case they have not been able to complete it within the due course.

The ‘special chance’ provision use to enable students to appear for pending exams if they had left their studies midway. Such students had to justify the reason behind their absence and they were allowed to sit for the pending exams under the ‘special chance’ criteria.

DU’s supreme decision-making body, the Executive Council (EC) had decided to do away with the provision last week. The council also said that it is important that the students complete their degrees within the course duration.

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A member of the EC informed that students are provided with ‘span time’ in case they have to take a break due to reasonable issues such as health reasons or marriage. He further added that education is the foremost responsibility of the students and therefore no extra time should be given other than the span time to complete the degrees.

According to DU norms, undergraduate students are required to finish their degrees within six years whereas post-graduate students must complete their degrees within four years of time from the date of enrolment.

The Council also mentioned that the examination branch was facing difficulties in maintaining the records for longer periods, therefore, it is necessary to remove this provision to prevent discrepancy. The move is expected to relieve some of the pressure of the examination branch.

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This is not the first time that the university is trying to remove the provision. In 2012, the provision was removed but brought back after the students protested against the move.