Biju Patnaik University of Technology. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, Oct. 17: The Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT) has rescheduled its autumn semester exams in view of the recent cyclone and flood.

Exams of the first, third, fifth and seventh semesters of BTech, BPharm, MCA, MBA and BArch, which were scheduled to begin from October 23, will now start from November 4. The detailed revised schedule of the examinations will be notified in the university website by October 21, the university said in an official notification this evening.

BPUT students had been demanded the postponement of their exams.

Colleges under the varsity are scheduled to reopen on October 21 and exams were to begin on October 23. These include regular exams and special exams for students who have back papers.

“A huge number of students in Ganjam, Puri, Balasore and Mayurbhanj have been affected by the cyclone. Electricity is yet to be restored in most of these areas and many houses continue to be submerged under floodwater. How will students study and prepare for the exams under these conditions?” said Biplab Prakash Mohanty of the BPUT Students’ Protection Council.

“We appreciate the decision of the varsity authorities who have understood our genuine problems,” he said.

On October 14, the students had handed over a memorandum to vice-chancellor J.K. Satpathy and technical education minister Pratap Kesari Deb.

Although the notice was issued, BPUT authorities were apparently not happy with the change the dates.

“The non-negotiable calendar of the varsity has specific dates for various academic activities and we wish to stick to it. It will be very difficult if the dates are changed. The delay in exams will have its effect on publication of results. On the one hand, the students demand streamlining of the system and on the other, they are not ready to follow the academic rules,” said a senior official of the university.

“The non-negotiable calendar is fine, but special situations like this must be considered. There are several instances of exams being postponed due to natural calamities. The authorities should be able to make some adjustments as and when needed,” said Siddharth, another student.