Bhubaneswar, June 8: For Swapna Sagarika Das, a fifth- year law student at Utkal University here, summer vacations are not a time for leisure. During the summer break, she was busy preparing for Orissa Judicial Services (OJS) examinations. Though the examinations were over last week, she is staying back in her hostel to attend coaching classes to finish next year’s course.
Like Swapna, many other students are keeping themselves busy to prepare for various competitive examinations. Though summer vacation are on and classes will resume only after the Raja festival gets over on June 16, a number of students can be seen on the campus while nearly 100 students visit university’s Parija library on daily.
The hustle and bustle on the campus is mainly due to the forthcoming National Eligibility Test (NET), which is scheduled to be held on June 26. Apart from NET, many students are also preparing for various banking and other examinations. Final-year students are also busy with their “vacation homework”. They are studying hard to crack M. Phil. and Ph.D. examinations of various universities across the country.
Trilochan Behera, a final-year arts student, said that the two-month vacation was crucial as it decided one’s future path of action. “The competition has intensified for every course and you just cannot afford to be laidback,” said Trilochan, a NET aspirant.
Final-year students of some departments are also staying in the hostel as their examinations have not started yet. Final examinations of English, archaeology, mathematics and geography will be held after the vacation.
Barring Sundays, Parija Library remains open everyday from 10am to 9pm. The chief librarian said that mostly science students were taking full advantage of the library facilities. “Everyday, I visit the library as the calm and quiet atmosphere allows you to concentrate on studies,” said Swapnananda Das, a final-year student of archaeology, who is preparing for his final exams.
All hostels on the campus have been kept open because of the approaching entrance examinations. However, students have to make arrangements for their food. The boarders either depend on nearby hotels or prepare food on their own.
However, the atmosphere in the hostels remains almost the same as any other day. “Ever since the vacations began, I have been staying in the hostel with my friends as it is easy to study in a group,” said Amiya Parida, a geology student, who has applied for Combined Defence Services (CDS).
Puspanjali Panda, a reader in library science and warden-in-charge, said these days students were becoming more career oriented and do not wish to while away their time during the vacation.
