State can’t hold exams, but waiting for UGC’s response’

State can’t hold exams, but waiting for UGC’s response’

10/07/2020

Hindustan Times Mumbai

A drone sprays disinfectants on mosquito-breeding sites at Mumbai Central.Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo

Medical workers screen Dharavi residents. SATYABRATA TRIPATHY/HT

Shreya Bhandary

shreya.bhandary@hindustantimes.com

Mumbai : Days after the University Grants Commission (UGC) said that all universities across India will have to conduct the end-of-term exams for final-year students by September, the state education department on Thursday, reiterating its stand, said exams will be not held owing to the Covid-19 outbreak.

However, the state will wait for some days to hear from UGC over its decision before going ahead with its decision to promote students. “We have made our stand clear, but if they [UGC] still insist on conducting the exams, we request them to clarify on the steps for holding exams in such a situation,” said Uday Samant, minister of higher and technical education, Maharashtra.

In a virtual press conference, Samant said he wrote to UGC asking if students, who reside in containment zones, would have to give exams, and if they do, will they have to remain in quarantine thereafter. The state also sought clarity on the paper-setting process, especially since the representative group for university teachers announced that if exams are held, lives of students and teachers will be in jeopardy.

“Once the UGC responds, the state will announce its decision. We assure students that they will not have to wait till September to know the final outcome of the decision. We will end the confusion soon,” said Samant.

Samant said in a collective meeting on July 4, vice-chancellors (VCs) from all the 13 universities in the state reiterated that they are in no position to hold the final-year exams in online, offline or blended modes by September. He added that the minutes of the meeting with the VCs were shared with the government on Thursday.

The VCs instead recommended that all final-year students be promoted on the same formula applied for the promotion of students of other years. “The state has since April clarified that conducting exams for around 8 to 10 lakh students is impossible. Our decision has been based on the recommendations made by the VCs of state universities, keeping in mind the safety of staff and students,” said Samant. The VCs also suggested that students with backlogs (ATKTs) must also be promoted based on their previous semester performances. The VCs said all the students should be given a chance to better their grades later this year, when it is safe to hold exams, the minister said.