The recent developments regarding the postponement of comprehensive examinations, the role of the Student Union (SU) in representing students’ issues to the Administration, and the fragmented demands of the students have been hot topics of discussion. With this in mind, the English Press Club had a friendly chat with Professor Sudhirkumar Barai, the Director of the Pilani campus, to understand his perspective on these issues. Some highlights of the conversation are as follows.
Proctored Exam Platform
The pandemic has caused many logistical issues for the Administration. Communication has been difficult due to many unforeseen reasons. This caused multiple delays in the verification of proctoring software. Prof. Barai maintained that despite these circumstances, adequate research was put into this, and the proctored exam platform was tested by a committee. Although not all faculty members were a part of the deciding committee, professors from the CS departments of all three campuses provided their input. However, he acknowledged that the leadership had not been convinced that the platform was without error. While they were unsure about its suitability for comprehensive examinations on a larger scale, they were open to exploring its use for smaller-scale examinations in the future. He noted that eventually the Administration decided not to use the software for proctoring, and gave students an additional week to study.
Cheating
The Director has received complaints that cheating has been prevalent in the online semester. However, he believed that this was not the right time to crack down on it. He further elaborated that it would be very difficult to completely prevent cheating without physical proctoring. According to him, it is unbecoming of a student of BITS to use unfair means in evaluatives. He hopes that students will learn from their mistakes and not repeat such activities in the future, and believes that students should not feel compelled to cheat due to the high averages and should maintain their integrity regardless of the circumstances.
CGPA
Continuing on the topic of high averages, the Director felt that students should not worry too much about lower grades and should focus on building their portfolio and doing more projects. Ultimately, making one’s CV credible and presentable holds more weight than a person’s CGPA and he had success stories which attested to the same.
When the EPC brought up the topic of a low median GPA at Pilani, the Director mentioned that this concern has been brought up multiple times in the past. He stated that grading patterns from across the three campuses were being analysed to check the veracity of those claims. Once the numbers are out, he will be better positioned to comment and give his view on it. Post the analysis, the Institute is considering handing over the data to recruiters in order to ensure that campus-specific cutoffs are made fairly.
Campus Reopening
The Director stated that it would be unlikely for the campus to reopen for all until there was a vaccine available for the mass population, coupled with a reduction in community spread and readily available transport. The health care facilities for community spread required for the reopening of campus are not available right now, and there are too many logistical challenges surrounding the issue. However, he explained that they are looking at a phased reopening of the campus for certain members of the student body. This would involve small groups of 15-20 people coming in at a time with negative COVID reports or quarantining themselves for fourteen days before entering their hostels.
A phased entry of first-year PhD scholars has been planned for December. So far, no cases have been found among any of the students currently on campus. The PhD students have been diligently following safety protocols issued by the Institute, and the Director expressed he was very pleased by this. They are now planning to call higher degree students next semester in order to have a sufficient number of TAs to run all the courses. The Director also personally hopes to have final year undergraduate students back on campus in order to provide them with a final taste of campus life before they move on with their lives. He is currently working very closely on this matter with the Campus Response Team, the Chief Warden, and the SWD.
The Role of the SU and Mass Mailing
The Director stated that although he could not comment on the role played by the Student Unions of Hyderabad and Goa, he enjoys an excellent relationship with both the President and the General Secretary of the Pilani campus. He explained that they have been in touch with him and provided updates as and when required. However, he maintained that the SU should have presented one set of issues after consulting with the General Body, as opposed to students individually raising issues in mails written to members of the Administration. He also believes that they should have presented a more consolidated and nuanced view of the different opinions espoused by the different sections of students instead of leaning into one particular narrative.
While commenting on mass mailing from members of the General Body, the Director stated that it is an inefficient form of communication which would not achieve any tangible outcome. He understands that this is a very difficult time for everyone, but he feels that mass mailing should not be the way the student body airs their grievances. He felt appalled at the language used by students in some of those emails and hopes that the student body expresses their concerns through the SU in the future, keeping in mind that the campus Director is always accessible to the SU. Students can send emails to SU and request them to take general views and present them to the heads of administration. Additionally, he asked that students follow hierarchy strictly and send emails about personal problems to the concerned offices instead of copying and sending emails directly to the Director or VC. In case the problem is not resolved at that level, they would then be justified in taking it to higher-ups.
The Confessions Page
Prof. Barai said that he had created an account on Facebook to do his ‘bit of branding’ for BITS. The Confessions page let him gauge the pulse of the students by talking to some of them in the comments’ section. He felt that this would help him understand the problems faced by the students in a better manner. However, the behaviour of the students had both surprised and pained him. Students resorted to abusive language against him/VC and the Institute, both on the Confessions page as well as in the emails that were directed towards various members of the Administration.
Additionally, it was found that students had tagged the Chancellor’s family members and the Director’s Facebook page without their prior permission. Prof. Barai stated that it was deeply hurtful to see students vent their collective rage on social media without fully understanding the consequences of their actions. He explained that while it would not affect the reputation built by distinguished alumni and faculty, it would nevertheless reflect poorly on the students. The accessibility extended by him in the form of social media, telephonic, or email interaction does not give students the right to abuse him or the Institute freely.
He added a word of caution to students by explaining how such mud-slinging harms the Institute in other ways. He shared how his former students from reputed organisations had been alarmed at the way BITSians conducted themselves online and had mentioned that they would think twice before extending opportunities to such students. The Director explained that such immature behaviour was unbecoming of BITS graduates, and it would ultimately harm the students, who gain a lot from the brand name that they graduate with. According to him, BITSians enjoy a certain celebrity status and need to be responsible citizens.
The Email to Parents
According to the Director, most students had misinterpreted the mail sent by the Vice-Chancellor. He explained that on campus, the mental and physical well-being of students had been the responsibility of the Administration. However, after receiving multiple emails containing extremely distressing information, the Administration decided that they should communicate with parents to explain the situation to them, and to request them to help their children through this stressful semester. He added that students were under the wrong impression that the Administration was trying to lobby parents, whereas the mail was intended to share the concerns of the Administration and try to cooperate with parents to help students.
Online Semester Fees
On the issue of fees for the online semester, the Director remarked that the Administration had taken a major decision regarding waiving hostel fees for this semester, and the fees at BITS are only marginally more than what is charged at other premier institutes, including the IITs.
Other Initiatives
Students have been under tremendous pressure throughout the semester and as a result, there have been grievances with the way the semester was conducted. The Director echoed the Administration’s concerns for the issues faced by the students but added that they should adopt more responsible methods while voicing their concerns. He had recently asked the SWD and Chief Warden to collect a group of professors who would communicate with students about their problems, and he asserted that the initiative was working very well. He empathises with the issues faced during these ‘unprecedented times’ and tries to cater to requests for help as much as he can.
The Director is also in talks with Mpower to explore platforms for the wellness of the students facing stress related to the online semester. He also suggested that Mpower form a “Wellness Students’ Team” to help the student community. Students are encouraged to share their problems with the SWD and Chief Warden’s team of the faculty members and/or Mpower without hesitation.
The Director concluded by saying that the wellbeing of each student is, and will always remain his top priority, and that he will always be working towards a more positive academic environment for the students.