The University of Delhi’s (DU) decision to observe a holiday for Id-ul-Zuha (Bakrid) on May 28 while continuing examinations on the same day has triggered sharp criticism and confusion among students and academic representatives.
In an office memorandum issued by the university’s General Branch-II, Delhi University announced that all offices, faculties, departments, colleges and institutions would remain closed on Thursday, May 28, in line with the Central Government’s revised holiday notification for Bakrid.
However, the notification also stated that examinations would continue “as scheduled”, despite the declared holiday.
According to the DU examination date sheet, a total of 368 examinations are scheduled to be held on May 28 across various undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, affecting thousands of students.
The decision has drawn objections from members of the Executive Council (EC) and Academic Council (AC), who have questioned the practicality of conducting examinations on a national holiday.
Two separate letters were written to the Vice-Chancellor on May 21 and May 25 by EC and AC members, urging the administration to reconsider and postpone the examinations scheduled for May 28. However, the university administration has not responded to either communication so far.
Executive Council member Aman Kumar criticised the move, calling the university’s order contradictory.
“The Central Government has declared May 28 as a holiday. In such a situation, conducting examinations on the same day is unfair to students as well as staff. The Vice-Chancellor should immediately intervene and postpone the examinations scheduled for May 28,” he said.
The notification, issued with the approval of the competent authority and signed by the Registrar of the University of Delhi, comes amid the Central Government’s decision to shift the Bakrid holiday to May 28. While the National Testing Agency (NTA) has postponed all CUET (UG) 2026 examinations scheduled for that day in both shifts, DU has so far not issued any separate clarification on the conduct of its examinations on the declared holiday.
