State colleges hope to start exams from July 15 or Aug 1 - The Times Of India

State colleges hope to start exams from July 15 or Aug 1 - The Times Of India

Plan 2 Tentative Schedules Due To Covid Uncertainty

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

Chennai: 20.05.2020

Universities in Tamil Nadu, including Anna University and University of Madras, have suggested conducting exams from July 15 or August 1 depending on the Covid-19 situation in Tamil Nadu.

The higher education department on Monday convened a meeting of vice-chancellors of all state universities to discuss conducting semester exams and reopening of colleges, universities and asked all universities to submit a tentative schedule to start semester exams post lockdown.

“We have submitted tentative academic planners with three possible dates to start semester exams. The earliest date is July 15,” said Anna University V-C M K Surappa. The other two possible dates are August 1 and August 15. “If public transport is resumed by July, we would like to start exams from July 15,” he said.

Madras University also preparing tentative schedules to hold exams. “We plan to start exams either on July 15 or August 1,” said vicechancellor P Duraisamy. The university is planning to start exams for final year students and subsequently for other students. The process is expected to take up to a month.

Ways to conduct mandatory 90 days of classes for the upcoming semester was also discussed at the meeting, an official from a state university said.

With some city colleges, such as Loyola College, being used as quarantine centres, these institutions are awaiting instructions from the government on how to proceed. “Regular classes may start from end of August or September depending on the Covid-19 situation,” a source in the higher education department said.

State universities, meanwhile, have begun issuing applications for the next academic year. Madras University on Tuesday announced that it would issue online applications for postgraduate courses, certificate courses, PG diploma courses from May 22. “The university issues applications every year in March and asks students to submit marksheets for five semesters. This remains unchanged this year too at this stage of the process,” a source in the university said. Students may have to produce the final semester marksheet at time of admission.

Educational institutions have been closed since March 17 and have not conducted semester exams. The higher education department had announced that end semester exams will be conducted at the start of next academic year.

Anna University has decided to conduct exams only on portions that were covered before the lockdown. Likewise, Madras University is checking with colleges on how much of the syllabus was covered before deciding the syllabus for exams.