NSUI protests over UGC call on exams

NSUI protests over UGC call on exams

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Kurukshetra: 09.07.2020

The National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) held a protest outside Gate 3 of Kurukshetra University (KU) here on Wednesday. NSUI Haryana unit chief Divyanshu Budhiraha said they protested against orders of the University Grants Commission (UGC) of holding terminal exams of the higher education courses.

The protesters held placards while demanding rollback of the decision issued by UGC and warned the Haryana government of astatewide agitation if it changed its decision of not holding the terminal exams in Haryana. NSUI workers raised slogans against the Haryana government, ABVP, and the Union minister of human resources and development Ramesh Pokhriyal.

NSUI workers protest outside KU in Kurukshetra on Wednesday

Cong MP: Find innovative solution

Amritsar:

In a letter to the University Grants Commission (UGC) chairman D P Singh, Rajya Sabha MP Partap Singh Bajwa said the commission should find an innovative solution for exit exams of the final year students such as the one announced for intermediate semester students.

Punjab says can’t hold final-yr exams, urges UGC to reconsider

Punjab says can’t hold final-yr exams, urges UGC to reconsider

Vinod.Kumar3@timesgroup.com

Chandigarh: 09.07.2020

Reeling under heavy surge of Covid-19 cases, the Punjab government has expressed its inability to conduct examinations for final year students of colleges and universities and urged the University Grants Commission (UGC) to reconsider its guidelines.

The commission on July 6 had issued guidelines making examinations mandatory, though the colleges and universities have been given the option of postponing the examinations, which can be held either online or offline mode, till September.

“For ensuring the safety of students and staff, the Punjab government has requested the UGC to review its guidelines,” said an official of the state’s higher education department.

VARSITY EXAMS

Surge in Punjab pulls recovery rate down to 67%

Punjab’s Covid-19 load is heavy — 6,907 positive cases and 178 deaths — even as number of cases has been on a steady rise. The growth rate of cases in the state from June 1 to June 8 ranged between 1% and 6% against the national growth rate of 3-4%. The surge in cases has also led to a drop in recovery rate to 67%, which once had touched the 80% mark. The doubling rate of cases has also come down to 25.2 after going as high as 102 days.

According to sources, the Punjab government has conveyed to the UGC that holding examinations under the prevailing circumstances is not feasible as premises of majority of higher education institutions are being used as centres for treating Covid-19 patients.

The Amarinder government also expressed apprehension over students accessing information technology infrastructure to give online exams. Supporting its contention, the state government pleaded that over 30% of the students belonging to Schedule Caste population do not have required resources — internet connection, smartphones and computers — due to financial constraints.

After waiting for UGC, the Punjab government on July 4 had announced its own guidelines allowing government\private institutes to promote students with riders.

As per the guidelines issued by the state government, the universities which are in the process of conducting online examinations have been allowed to do so after taking permission from the higher education department.

Medical student urges HC to order PG exams be held

Medical student urges HC to order PG exams be held

Fears Losing Seat In Top Institute For Higher Studies

Rosy.Sequeira@timesgroup.com

Mumbai:  09.07.2020

Saying his career hangs in jeopardy, a medical student has urged the Bombay high court to direct the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) to declare dates and conduct the final year exams for the post-graduate MD and MS course.

Dr Nishant Gabbur is studying MS (general surgery) at Seth GS Medical College in Parel. He was to appear for the final year post-graduate exams from May 12 to 18, which were postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The rescheduled exams from June 15 to 26 were again postponed to August.

A resident of Akkalkot in Solapur district, Gabbur on June 21 appeared for the entrance test in DM/MCh courses conducted by Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh and stood second in the all-India ranking in the general category for neurosurgery for three coveted seats.

“The said exam is the toughest online test with only few selected seats against which thousands of students appear for the exams,” his petition said.

It said he had worked hard for years to prepare for it.

On June 30, PGIMER issued Gabbur a provisional appointment and admission letter and granted time to join by July 6 at the latest. The eligibility criteria mandate that a candidate must have passed MD or MS, or its equivalent qualification recognized by Medical Council of India.

Gabbur’s petition said that he was at risk of losing his seat to another candidate because MUHS had not held the exams.

Gabbur’s petition says he was “caught in a dilemma” and a “situation beyond his control” as MUHS had postponed the exams and not resolved the situation, “thereby hanging his career in jeopardy with the risk of losing one precious year and the entire process of preparation and reappearing for the DM/MCh course”.

It said that similar was the plight of hundreds of students across the state who had secured seats in prestigious institutions.

Gabbur also urged that PGIMER be directed to admit him for the DM/MCh neurology course pending the conduct of exams and declaration of results and to restrain it from allotting his seat to another candidate.

DU likely to delay admissions, awaits UGC’s revised calender

MISSION ADMISSION

DU likely to delay admissions, awaits UGC’s revised calender

Mohammad.Ibrar@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:  09.07.2020

There is likelihood that Delhi University might postpone this year’s admission process to after September. The university will be extending the cutoff dates as soon as University Grants Commission releases the revised academic calendar, with the new session not expected to begin before November.

Many in DU pointed out that since CBSE has given the opportunity for students to appear in the optional exam after the results are declared, the varsity should wait for its results. “In fact, while CBSE may declare its results by July 15, there are other States that are yet to decide on releasing the results, and DU being a central university, should wait for them and postpone its admission process,” a member of the admission branch said.

Since UGC has said that exams are to be conducted by September-end, the member said by logic, DU’s admission should not begin before that.

A senior Delhi University official, who wished to remain anonymous, explained that “postponing the admission process might seem to be the correct thing to do in the current scenario. CBSE, which was to hold their exams in July, decided to cancel it and will release the results by July

15. Students, however, have the option to take up an optional exam later and improve their scores. The HRD ministry has also said that until students are done with those exams, the admission procedure should carry on.”

While some in DU believe the extension of dates and the delay in starting the new session may have an adverse impact on teaching, former deputy dean of students’ welfare, Gurpreet Singh Tuteja, said that “DU could manage by reducing the summer vacations and making up for lost time.”

Scrap online exams, delay will only harm us, say students

Scrap online exams, delay will only harm us, say students

Mohammad.Ibrar@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: 09.07.2020

Both students and teachers opposing the open-book examinations are not happy with Delhi University’s decision to postpone it till August 15. According to them, it will just “extend the misery of students”.

Many students who are preparing to sit for the final-year exams are unhappy as the postponement, they said, will not only add to their anxieties but also delay graduation and affect their plans for further studies or jobs.

Announcing the postponement, DU said on Wednesday that a new notification with the revised dates and other information would be uploaded on its website “in due course of time”.

“The university is now playing with the lives of students. This is the second postponement, and we suspected the authorities to do so after they faced a huge backlash over mishandling of mock tests,” said Jaishree Kumar, third-year history student at Ramjas College. “They should rather scrap the exams as many of us have been unable to study.”

Justifying its decision, DU said that in current circumstances, “all concerned stakeholders, especially students, may find it difficult to attend their scheduled activities of exams”.

Many teachers, however, wanted OBE to be scrapped altogether. “What DU has said will cause more harm than good to the students. Already students are anxious about the exams and with this decision, their issues have been extended by over a month,” said DU Teachers’ Association president Rajib Ray. “The only solution is to cancel the exams and declare the results of students on the basis of past performance and current-session internal assessment,” said former academic council member Pankaj Garg.

Anusha Mishra, a psychology student at Lady Shri Ram College, said “some will also be uncomfortable with the idea that they may not be able to graduate before September. One of the reasons why students, despite their opposition, decided to sit for the exam was to complete their graduation and apply for master’s or take up jobs”.

National Students’ Union Of India’s Akshay Lakra said NSUI “demands that OBE be cancelled and the students should be passed and promoted”. All India Students’ Association also made the same demand “to end the undue uncertainty”.

DUTA PRESIDENT SAYS

The students are already anxious about the exams and with DU’s decision to delay, their issues have been extended further

You’re playing with students’ lives: HC to DU

You’re playing with students’ lives: HC to DU

Move To Postpone Final Exams To Mid-August Draws Court’s Ire

Abhinav.Garg@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:  09.07.2020

A day after claiming it is well prepared to conduct the final-year examinations online later this week, Delhi University on Wednesday told the high court it had postponed the same till mid-August.

DU submitted before Delhi high court that the decision to postpone the open-book examinations (OBE), scheduled from July 10, came after a meeting on Tuesday among university officials, University Grants Commission (UGC) and the human resource development ministry.

Justice Pratibha M Singh, however, took a dim view of DU’s stand and remarked “just see how you are playing with the lives of children”. Till Tuesday, the judge said, DU had assured the court that it was all geared up to hold the online exams.

The university, through senior advocate Sachin Dutta, then told the court that during mock tests, more than 4.9 lakh question papers had been downloaded and attempted, and 4.7 lakh files uploaded successfully, showing that the students were able to access the mock tests as well as upload the documents.

“You were not fair with the court about your preparedness for holding the online examinations. You are saying you are ready but the minutes of your meeting shows to the contrary,” Justice Singh noted, while hearing petitions by several final-year DU students seeking quashing and withdrawal of the notifications of May 14 and 30 and June 27 on the online exams for final-year undergraduate and postgraduate students, including those of School of Open Learning and Non-Collegiate Women Education Board. DU’s decision has created uncertainty among students, the court observed. DU has now postponed OBE for the second time.

Meanwhile, UGC said it had allowed the universities to conduct examinations as per their convenience provided the September deadline was adhered to. The students have also sought direction to DU to evaluate the final-year students based on the previous years’ or semesters’ results, the way the university plans to promote others.

Justice Singh has transferred the case to a division bench, which is hearing petitions related to the validity of OBE.

After the high court earlier sought to know how prepared DU is to conduct the examinations on July 10, the university had told the court that out of its around 2.5 lakh final-year students, approximately 1.9 lakh were from Delhi and the rest from outside. It also claimed its examination portal was “quite robust” and was capable of catering to 80,000 students at a time, while the traffic won’t be more than 22,000 for each exam.

Prof Vinay Gupta, dean of examinations, had also submitted the evaluation of papers was likely to begin in the first week of August and the results would be released by the first week of October.

NO CLARITY OVER FUTURE

Post-grad exams a nightmare for docs on Covid duty, board

Post-grad exams a nightmare for docs on Covid duty, board

Rema.nagarajan@timesgroup.com

09.07.2020

Practical exams for thousands of doctors doing Diplomate of National Board (DNB), a post-graduate course, has turned out to be a nightmare for most of them who are on Covid duty, and for the institution conducting the exam, the National Board of Examination (NBE).

With states and even individual cities or districts moving in and out of various levels of lockdown, DNB doctors are under severe stress about making it to exam centres located in cities across India. They are also worried that they might be put under quarantine or might test positive close to exam date or that they might catch the infection while travelling or appearing for the exam to places or hospitals that are Covid hotspots.

The practical exams are for 18 out of 57 specialties and super specialties in which NBE conducts DNB courses. Theory exams were held in December 2019. Practical exams were to be in April but got delayed by the pandemic.

NBE executive director Prof Pawanindra Lal told TOI that it was imperative to hold these exams as these specialties were feeder qualifications for the NEET super specialty entrance examination and fellowship entrance test to be held in September.

Many DNB candidates sought a waiver of practical exams altogether. However, senior DNB faculty members point out that for clinical specialties, practical exams to test clinical skills should not be waived. However, they agree that it is insensitive to expect them to travel during Covid. Exams for just 18 specialties, extending from July 14 till August 27 will involve almost 4,000 DNB candidates having to travel to exam centres across India.

Full report on www.toi.in

UNDER STRESS: Doctors and nurses work at a Covid-19 isolation centre in Mumbai on Wednesday