Punjab University's offline exam call rattles Afghan students

CHANDIGARH: A notification released by Dean, International Students, Panjab University, asking all national and international studenys to appear for the upcoming offline exams from June caused panic among Afghan students stuck back home due to non-issuance of visas.
Ahmad Safa Faisal, a student of MBA (UIAMS) who is one of those stranded in Afghanistan said, “We are trying very hard to procure visa but the situation over here is not favourable.Our embassy has also reached out to PU authorities and requested their intervention and sought help for Afghan students, I even communicated to PU authorities and they said that the notification is for all and we have to appear for examinations in offline mode. The university should understand our situation and help or consider our request for online exams.”
Sahar Noor, another student also sought help from the university. “We are not running away from examinations but the whole world knows our situation. We are hiding here and there. The situation in Afghanistan is critical for all and we are unable to do our visa work. We just need a little support from PU. We request them to conduct examinations in online mode or conduct it once we are there,” she said.
Recently, the Afghan embassy also reached out to PU authorities saying that around 28 students from PU’s UIAMS department are stranded in Afghanistan and due to suspension of flights between the two nations, they were unable to travel to India. The embassy requested the varsity to either conduct online exams for them or defer the exams.
Dean, International Students Deepti Gupta said, “the notification is for all the students whether they are students from India itself or from outside India. We know the situation of Afghan students and we have taken a decision regarding the same and it is pending. We will conduct the examination in offline mode for everyone and students who will not be able to appear for offline exams, especially from Afghanistan, will be considered for online exams, but first, we need data, which is only possible after the examination.”