Stephen's lets Pi get on with life

Movie star now allowed to take exams

After some uncertainty on whether Life of Pi star Suraj Sharma would be able to write his semester-end exams, St Stephen's College on Thursday gave him the go-ahead.

The issue was sorted out after the Delhi University college allowed him time up to Thursday evening to submit his assignment papers – and make up for shortage of attendance.

“Yes, he will be writing his exams,” college bursar K M Mathew told PTI when asked if the teenage star of Ang Lee's much talked about film had been provided his examination admit card.

Nineteen-year-old Sharma, who apparently submitted the written assignments, will be allowed to write his exams from Thursday after he missed his first paper on Wednesday.
Sharma recently said at an event to promote the movie that he was not being allowed to take his exams as he failed to submit his assignments on time.

Senior officials at the college had earlier said he had not submitted even a single assignment.

In DU, a minimum of 67 per cent attendance is required to sit for the exams.
But students admitted through sports quota are allowed  instead to submit assignment papers, countersigned by their teachers.
However, Sharma had said he had misplaced all his assignment-papers.

“We all want to help him out. I was told he never submitted his assignments, he in turn says he lost them,” vice principal Clement Rajkumar had said.

Earlier, India’s U-19 cricket team captain Unmukt Chand, another St Stephen's student, had run into trouble due to poor attendance. He was later allowed to sit for the exams.
Rajkumar said there were several students, particularly in the sports quota, who suffer because of lack of guidelines as the university makes a transition to the semester system.

“There are so many students who work hard on sports but not all catch media attention like Unmukt Chand did. Many of them have to repeat years. I wish the university could give powers to the principals, for a year maybe, to use their discretion on a case-to-case basis until the complete transition to semester system takes place,” he said.