State seeks UGC approval to cancel final year exams too -

State seeks UGC approval to cancel final year exams too -

 The Times Of India

Yogita.Rao@timesgroup.com

Mumbai: 20.05.2020

Final-year exams for eight to 10 lakh students in state’s universities are likely to be cancelled due to the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic. A final decision will be taken after consultation with experts in two days, said higher and technical education minister Uday Samant who has written to the University Grants Commission seeking permission to cancel final-year exams in universities across the state.

“Since the lockdown has been extended and the number of Covid-19 cases are on the rise, we cannot endanger the safety of our students,” Samant told TOI. He added that the UGC has not specified that universities have to conduct final-year exams, but has given guidelines for them. “We will seek clarification on the gradation process,” he added.

In his letter to the UGC, the minister stated that it would be difficult to conduct the exam for eight to 10 lakh students even after following all safety protocols and that it would endanger their mental and physical well-being. Samant also requested the UGC to provide guidelines for promoting the students if exams are not held. Samant, during a live interaction with students on a social media platform on Tuesday, told them about the UGC letter.

Environment minister Aditya Thackeray too has written to the UGC seeking cancellation of final-year exams.

Earlier, Samant had said that the decision on finalyear exams for undergraduate and postgraduate courses would be reviewed on June

20. However, after the extension of the lockdown, the state will have to give 45-60 days to re-open institutes, said an official. “With cases rising every day, we are not sure if the lockdown in the state will even end on May 31. It will be practically impossible for us to conduct exams in July,” the official added.

Siddharth Ingle, president of Maharashtra Students’ Union, said the UGC never specified that final year or the final semester examination should be conducted. “The UGC is anyway a recommending body and has given liberty to universities to take the final decision based on the Covid-19 situation in the state. If the situation is not permitting them to conduct the exam, they can make use of gradation formula based on previous semesters’ performances and the internal assessment marks in the current semester,” said Ingle.

In an online survey conducted by the union, over 40,000 students have sought cancellation of final-year exams. In multiple petitions on online platforms, close to 50,000 students have demanded cancellation of exams citing the fear of contracting coronavirus. Students claimed that they can be promoted in the final year using the same gradation formula that will be applied for firstand second-year students.

(Inputs from Ardhra Nair in Pune)