Guv calls e-meet of VCs after UGC nudge on final-year exams

Guv calls e-meet of VCs after UGC nudge on final-year exams

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Kolkata:  08.07.2020

The Bengal governor wants a virtual conference with vice-chancellors of state universities on July 15 to discuss the plight of students amid the Covid pandemic, at a time the UGC, in its recent guidelines, has asked universities to hold final semester/final-year examination by September 20.

In his letter to VCs, governor Jagdeep Dhankhar said the link to the virtual conference would be provided from Raj Bhavan.

He has called the meeting days after most state universities such as Calcutta, Jadavpur, Presidency and North Bengal decided not to hold final-year examination. Instead, these varsities have worked out a method to evaluate final-year students based on their home assignments, viva and performance in the preceding semester.

State universities, other than Rabindra Bharati University, have opted for the alternative in view of the spike in Covid-19 cases in Bengal.

Dhankhar uploaded the UGC circular on compulsory holding of final examinations hours before the state government announced a stricter lockdown protocol for containment zones across Bengal from Thursday, including the 28 in Kolkata.

State education minister Partha Chatterjee has also taken note of the UGC circular. “I will consult the CM on this issue,” he said.

The governor’s stance has surprised students who had tweeted seeking his intervention to scrap the final examination amid the pandemic. One such respondent, Sudip Sarkar, pointed to the governor’s U-turn on the issue following the UGC directive. “On June 27, the governor opposed the Bengal government plans citing safety of students during the pandemic,” Sarkar tweeted.

Vice-chancellors, however, haven’t received any letter from Raj Bhavan inviting them to the virtual conference. So they prefer to lie low and wait for the state’s response. “We are yet to get any communication from Raj Bhavan,” said North Bengal University VC Subiresh Bhattacharya, who is secretary of Upacharya Parishad.