Back-to-back holidays for PU colleges in Mangaluru due to incessant rains are hampering the completion of the syllabus necessary for the upcoming internal assessment examinations scheduled for the second week of August. PU colleges across the district have been closed for over a week, complicating efforts to cover the required material.
Government PU colleges are particularly affected as they strive to cover the syllabus for students who joined late after taking SSLC improvement exams. To address the issue, the PU department in Dakshina Kannada plans to conduct classes on Saturdays and Sundays. “We need to cover close to 25% of the syllabus for internal assessments starting on August 9. We may need to conduct classes even on Sundays to meet this goal,” said a government college principal.
Jayanand N Suvarna, principal of Government PU College, Shaktinagar, and president of the Dakshina Kannada Pre-University Colleges Principals’ Association, acknowledged the difficulty in covering a week’s syllabus in a short span. Meanwhile, principals of privately run PU colleges expressed confidence in managing to complete the syllabus by the deadline. “We would have faced more challenges if similar rain holidays occurred at the end of the academic year. Currently, we can manage by conducting special classes,” said a private PU college principal.
CD Jayanna, DDPU of Dakshina Kannada, confirmed that colleges have been instructed to hold classes on weekends to catch up on the syllabus. “We are aware it will be an inconvenience, but it’s necessary,” Jayanna stated.