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Chaos and frustration erupted at Delhi University examination centres on Saturday as exam papers for more than 35 subjects arrived nearly four hours late, disrupting schedules and leaving students anxious.
The two-hour exams, scheduled to begin at 9.30am, were delayed till nearly noon at several colleges while some papers were eventually cancelled, exposing serious logistical lapses in DU’s examination system.
Official sources stated that the delayed papers were discipline-specific electives (DSEs), mainly for seventh-semester undergraduate students, Times of India reported.
“Around 800 papers were scheduled for the morning session, with nearly 1.4 lakh students appearing for exams across DU campuses. Over 35 DSE papers could not be dispatched
on time,” TOI quoted an official as saying.
The university later issued a notification saying that “due to some logistical issues, few papers could not be dispatched and the same could not be conducted at some examination centres”. The issue was subsequently rectified and papers were sent out, it claimed.
The honours students appearing for three core subjects will be allowed to use subsequent examination slots while revised dates for affected programme courses will be notified separately, with exams to be conducted by the second week of Jan 2026, DU stated.
As per the official, the exams for up to 10 papers had to be cancelled, affecting over 100 students, while some examinations were conducted later in the day “with considerable difficulty”.
The longest delays were reported in science and computer science courses. “Two computer science papers—Digital Image Processing and Compiler Design—did not reach any college across the university until 12:50 pm,” an official said.
Students said the wait added to stress and confusion. “We were asked to sit and wait without any clarity on whether the exam would happen. Some students left thinking it was cancelled while others stayed back till noon,” said a seventh-semester science student at Miranda College.
Another student taking a DSE at Lady Shri Ram College for Women said the delay affected preparation for other exams. “By the time the exam began, we were mentally drained, and there was no official communication for hours,” she said.
