PIL challenges cancellation of exams by Maharashtra govt due to COVID-19, HC asks UGC to be made party

PIL challenges cancellation of exams by Maharashtra govt due to COVID-19, HC asks UGC to be made party

The PIL filed by Dhananjay Kulkarni, a retired teacher from Pune, has stated that because UGC was the regulation authority, Maharashtra state was not empowered to decide and announce the mode of assessment for final year students, and has sought to set aside and quash the government resolution.

EDUCATION Updated: Jul 07, 2020 15:06 IST

K A Y Dodhiya

Hindustan Times, MumbaiBombay High Court.(HT Photo)

A division bench of the Bombay High Court has called for the University Grants Commission (UGC) to be made a party to a public interest litigation (PIL) that has challenged a Maharashtra government resolution of June19 which decided to not conduct exams for professional and non-professional courses due to the situation caused by novel coronavirus pandemic. The bench also asked Maharashtra state to respond to the petition.

The PIL filed by Dhananjay Kulkarni, a retired teacher from Pune, has stated that because UGC was the regulation authority, Maharashtra state was not empowered to decide and announce the mode of assessment for final year students, and has sought to set aside and quash the government resolution.

The division bench of Justice AA Sayed and Justice MS Karnik was informed by Kulkarni’s advocate Uday Warunjikar that the decision of the higher and technical education ministry to not conduct exams for professional and non-professional courses was not valid.

The government resolution had stated that students of non-professional courses, who have cleared all previous semesters and do not want to appear for last semester exams of their final year should give in writing that they do not want to appear for final exams to their respective universities. These students will be awarded a score based on the average of their aggregate marks of previous semesters and provided with results, and had given an exception for those students who were not satisfied with their score and wished to fare better to given a written undertaking to the effect which would enable them to take an optional exam later.

But the government resolution had stated that it will not be able to conduct final semester exams of professional courses like engineering, pharmacy, hotel management, architecture, planning, management studies, computer studies, law, physical education and pedagogy, but had given students to take the optional exam for better scores later.

The plea stated, “There is an artificial classification made by the state among students who are admitted to professional and non-professional courses. If the state government is not going to conduct examinations for non-professional courses because of the coronavirus outbreak, there is no reason to conduct exams for professional courses either. There is no logic behind the decision and it is arbitrary and unreasonable and therefore court’s intervention is required.”

Warunjikar further submitted that the dual assessment method offered to the students in the GR was also without logic and such methods cannot be adopted while granting degrees. Students are given the option to appear for exams or accept average marks based on past performance.

“Such exercise is unknown to the educational field and therefore there is non-application of mind on the part of the state,” said Warunjikar and submitted that even the Maharashtra Public Universities Act, 2016 did not permit the state government to take such a decision and only the UGC could take such decisions, hence the decision was beyond the purview of the provisions of UGC Act as well.

The plea stated, “The hanging sword of uncertainty is faced by final year students and GR is not clear as to when the exams will be conducted and the academic year will get over. “Fate of a large number of students who wish to take admission for the post-graduation courses is kept in a hanging situation.”

Stating this, the petitioner sought from the Court to quash and set aside the GR and pending hearing, sought a stay on the same. After hearing the submissions the court directed that UGC should also be made party to the PIL and directed the state to file response to the plea within a week, the Court posted further hearing on July 17.

If IIT Bombay Can, Why Not Others? NSUI Opposes UGC's Decision On Final Exams

If IIT Bombay Can, Why Not Others? NSUI Opposes UGC's Decision On Final Exams

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has released new guidelines for exams and academic session. The higher education regulator has decided to hold the terminal semester or final year examinations by the end of September, 2020 in offline online or blended (online + offline) mode.

Education | Edited by Maitree Baral | Updated: Jul 7, 2020 8:42 am IST

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has released new guidelines for exams and academic session.

New Delhi: 

The National Students Union of India (NSUI), a students' body affiliated with the Congress, has said the Centre’s decision to hold final semester exams to be a "narrow-minded view" and has said "it will endanger student’s health". The University Grants Commission (UGC) has released new guidelines for exams and academic session today. The higher education regulator has decided to hold the final semester or final year examinations by the end of September, 2020 in offline, online or blended (online + offline) mode.

“If IIT Bombay can, why not other universities?” NSUI’s Ruchi Gupta has said while responding to the government’s decision to hold final semester or year exams of universities and colleges across India.

Meanwhile, the exams for rest of the students have been cancelled due to the health risks and containment measures adopted by the government against the COVID-19 pandemic.

First, it's a tragedy to take the vastness of education - the experience of university, the diversity, the development of perspectives, critical thinking etc - and reduce it to a number received in an exam. This tragedy is brought out even more starkly if one takes an indepth look at the quality of the examination system in our country - rife with corruption, arbitrariness, delays, ineptitude, social bias, inequities and incompetence, the NSUI has said in its official statement.

Finally, the concern about devaluation of degree if the final exam is not conducted is exaggerated and misplaced. For most undergraduate courses, the final semester is only 1 semester out of 6 semesters. The purpose of exams in most often to filter out students - since the number of aspirants vastly outnumber opportunities - and it is easy to extrapolate relative ranking from past semesters and other internal assessments, it added.

On students who come from rural areas, the NSUI has said that these students from rural or marginalised backgrounds suffer from unequal access to both internet-enabled devices and internet connectivity. At least two students have committed suicide due to inability to participate in online classes.

It has also mentioned about the low attendance in online classes, which were started by many universities during the lockdown period. Online classes too have been a sham with a massive drop in attendance and the back and forth expected of classroom lectures, the Congress’ affiliated students' body has said.

On offline exams it has said that, "many students were shunted homes in a rush and students have reported that they are without books or study material. Even if exam centers manage social distancing, travel from their homes to universities will certainly lead to possible health exposure, putting both students and their families at risk."

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Final-year exams must for degrees: UGC

Final-year exams must for degrees: UGC

Universities will decide whether to conduct online or offline tests

University Grants Commission

Basant Kumar Mohanty | New Delhi | Published 07.07.20, 02:13 AM

Final-year undergraduate and master’s students will have to appear in exams to get their degrees, the government announced on Monday, while relaxing the earlier July schedule by saying these tests must be conducted by September-end.

The universities will decide whether to conduct online or offline tests, the announcement by the human resource development (HRD) ministry said.

Many students and teachers were unhappy, saying pen-and-paper exams would threaten the examinees’ health while online tests —which they suspect the authorities will prefer — will leave rural and poorer students in the lurch.

However, the government said that students unable to take their final-year exams in September would get another chance to appear in “special” exams “as and when feasible”, PTI reported.

The home ministry had earlier in the day allowed educational institutions to conduct exams during the Unlock 2 phase (July 1 to 31) in keeping with the “standard operating procedure” approved by the Union health ministry.

Earlier in April, based on recommendations from an expert committee headed by R.C. Kuhad, the University Grants Commission had issued guidelines asking universities to hold exams for final-semester students, possibly in July, and promote other students on the basis of internal assessment.

But hopes of degrees being granted this year without exams had risen after a public appeal from HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal to the commission last Wednesday.

Alluding to the rising Covid-19 cases, Pokhriyal had requested the regulator to “reconsider the guidelines” keeping in mind the “health and safety (of) students, teachers and staff”.

But a revised report that the Kuhad committee submitted on Monday again endorsed exams for final semester students while recommending they be held in September, a senior commission official told The Telegraph.

He said the commission discussed the revised report and decided on exams, which the universities can hold entirely offline, entirely online or through a mix of offline and online papers.

Apparently, the state governments, mostly those run by the BJP, had opposed the award of degrees on the basis of internal assessment or previous exams.

“The possibility of not holding exams was discussed. But it would have left a blot on the careers of the batch passing out in 2020. In their interest, it was decided to hold the exams,” the commission official said.

“Performance in examinations gives confidence and satisfaction to the students and is a reflection of competence, performance and credibility that is necessary for global acceptability,” the commission’s revised guidelines say.

Pokhriyal on Monday said the revised guidelines had been formulated “in view of the safety, career progression and placements of the students and their larger interests, after consulting” the home and health ministries.

Protests

The decision comes at a time Delhi University (DU) is planning “open-book exams” (OBE) for its final-year students despite glitches blighting ongoing “mock tests” and widespread protests from students and teachers.

Sat Bhavna, a third-year DU Hindi honours student, said she had to climb onto the roof of her home to access the Internet from her mobile.

“I cannot access the question papers or upload the answers from my mobile phone. I cannot take the exams. Most of the time there is no Internet service on my phone,” Bhavna said from her village near Faridabad in Haryana.

Utkarsh Singh, another third-year DU Hindi honours student, who lives in Anglia village near Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, echoed her.

“There have been no online classes in the last semester, nor have we received any study material. Electricity fluctuation is an everyday problem. This OBE will damage our career,” he said.

Abha Dev Habib, former DU executive council member, opposed the OBE. “The majority of students in the universities, including Delhi University, are from poor families who have no access to computers or laptops,” she said.

“They are currently in their villages. They will miss out on the online open-book examinations being pushed by DU. This means those who ha-ve gadgets will get degrees and those who have not will have to stay back (in their classes). This is discriminatory.”

She said the students and the teachers were expecting relief from exams in view of the Covid-19 outbreak and Pokhriyal’s appeal. “This (commission decision) means the government does not bother about the health and well-being of the students. They want to push online examinations on the pretext of Covid-19,” Habib said.

As for the “special” exams for students who miss out in September, DU executive member Rajesh Jha said holding tests in different months meant assessing the same batch by two yardsticks, which “compromises the sanctity of the exam”. Besides, he said, online exams like the OBE that the students will take from their homes without any supervision will facilitate large-scale malpractice.

Additional reporting by PTI

UGC revised guidelines on exams ‘not applicable’ in MP

Updated on : Tuesday, July 7, 2020, 11:35 PM IST

UGC revised guidelines on exams ‘not applicable’ in MP

By Staff Reporter

The UGC said that the universities are required to complete the examinations by the end of September.

UGC

Indore: University Grants Commission (UGC) has revised the guidelines pertaining to the conducting of examinations for session 2019-20 but the same will not be applicable to the institutes of higher education in Madhya Pradesh as the state government has already ordered for promoting students to next class without examinations.

In view of the emerging situation related to Covid-19 pandemic in India, the higher education regulator said that it is important to safeguard the principles of health, safety, fair and equal opportunity for students along with ensuring academic credibility, career opportunities and future progress of students globally.

The UGC said that the universities are required to complete the examinations by the end of September (instead of July) in offline (pen & paper)/ online/ blended (online + offline) mode following the prescribed protocols/ guidelines related to Covid-19 pandemic.

“Provision of examination through special chance in case a student of terminal semester/ final year is unable to appear in the examination conducted by the university for whatsoever the reason(s) may be, he/she may be given opportunity to appear in special examinations for such course(s)/ paper(s), which may be conducted by the university as and when feasible, so that the student is not put to any inconvenience/ disadvantage,” the revised guidelines state.

The guidelines also state that the students of terminal semester/ final year students having backlog should compulsorily be evaluated by conducting examinations in offline (pen & paper)/ online/ blended (online + offline) mode as per feasibility and suitability.

Indore division additional director (higher education) Suresh Silawat said that the UGC guidelines would have no bearing in the state as the MP government has already announced the promotion of students to the next class without exams.

“In case of final year, the decision is to promote students on the basis of the last year/semester marks/internal evaluation. We are working on giving promotion to the students,” he added.

Streamlined Procedure With Proper Deadlines Needed For Issuance of Degree Certificates, Marksheets Etc: Delhi HC Tells Delhi University

Streamlined Procedure With Proper Deadlines Needed For Issuance of Degree Certificates, Marksheets Etc: Delhi HC Tells Delhi University 

Karan Tripathi

7 July 2020 4:48 PM 

The Delhi High Court has observed that there is a need to have a proper streamlined procedure with proper deadlines being fixed for issuance of the mark sheets, transcripts, degree certificates, etc. by the Delhi University. 

In light of the said observation, the Single Bench of Justice Prathiba M Singh has directed the Dean of Examination of the Delhi University to suggest a proper schedule and timeline for issuance of degree certificates and other related documents as also the respective officers who would be personally responsible for the same. 

The order has come in a writ petition moved by a Delhi University student who was unable to complete the admission process for a Master's Programme in Universities abroad due to the non issuance of his undergraduate degree by the Delhi University. 

The Petitioner has submitted that despite being graduated in 2017, the University has still not provided him with his degree. 

He further submitted that he was awarded the Commonwealth Scholarship by King's College London, however, the same could not materialize due to the non-filing of the degree certificate in time. 

The court was further informed by the Petitioner that one final opportunity is available to him to avail a scholarship from Glasgow University and if the degree certificate is not immediately uploaded by him on the portal, even the said opportunity is likely to be lost. 

The Delhi University, on the other hand, submitted that the reason for non-issuance of the degree certificate is lack of proper quality paper and that the contract with the printer has also expired. 

While expressing its dissatisfaction towards the response given by the Delhi University, the court observed that: 

'such an excuse does not justify the non-issuance of the degree certificate for a period of three long years, resulting in irreparable damage to the Petitioner's further studies. The DU ought to facilitate the process of obtaining degree certificates by students and should, in fact, provide all possible assistance to students who wish to pursue further education and career opportunities. Instead, it is clear from the correspondence on record that the Petitioner's repeated requests for issuance of his degree certificate has not materialised.' 

In light of these facts, the court highlighted that there needs to be a more streamlined process in place for issuance of degrees and certificates so that inconvenience is not caused to the students. 

As far as this case is concerned, the court directed the counsel appearing for the Delhi University to obtain instructions and make a statement as to in what manner the degree certificate can be given to the Petitioner at the earliest and in any case, before 10th July, 2020. 

The Petitioner in this case was represented by Advocate Sarthak Maggon

பள்ளி, கல்லுாரிகள் 31 வரை திறப்பில்லை

பள்ளி, கல்லுாரிகள் 31 வரை திறப்பில்லை

Added : ஜூலை 07, 2020 23:16

சென்னை : 'வரும், 31ம் தேதி வரை பள்ளி, கல்லுாரிகள் உள்ளிட்ட கல்வி நிறுவனங்களை திறக்க வேண்டாம்' என, மத்திய அரசு உத்தரவிட்டுள்ளது.

கொரோனா தொற்று பரவலை தடுக்க அமல்படுத்தப்படும் ஊரடங்கால், கல்வி நிறுவனங்களுக்கு மூன்று மாதங்களாக விடுமுறை விடப்பட்டு உள்ளது. அத்தியாவசிய பணிகளுக்கு மட்டும், ஆசிரியர்களும், பணியாளர்களும், குறைந்த அளவில் வரவழைக்கப் படுகின்றனர்.இந்நிலையில், வரும், 31ம் தேதி வரை கல்வி நிறுவனங்களை திறக்க வேண்டாம் என, மத்திய மனிதவள மேம்பாட்டு அமைச்சகம் சார்பில், மாநில அரசுகளுக்கு அறிவுறுத்தப் பட்டுள்ளது.

மத்திய மனிதவள மேம்பாட்டு அமைச்சகத்தின் செயலர், அனிதா கர்வால், மாநில கல்வி துறைகளுக்கு அனுப்பியுள்ள கடிதம்:பள்ளிகள், கல்லுாரிகள், பல்கலைகள் உள்ளிட்ட கல்வி நிறுவனங்களை, 31ம் தேதி வரை திறக்க வேண்டாம். மாணவர்களுக்கு நேரடியாக அல்லாமல், தொலைநிலை வகுப்புகளை தொடர்ந்து நடத்தலாம்.மேலும், உரிய விதிகளை பின்பற்றி, 'ஆன்லைன்' வகுப்புகளையும் நடத்தலாம். ஆசிரியர்கள், ஊழியர்கள் உள்ளிட்டோர் அவசிய தேவை ஏற்பட்டால் மட்டும், நேரடியாக கல்வி நிறுவனங்களுக்கு பணிக்கு வரலாம். முடிந்தவரை வீட்டில் இருந்து பணியாற்றுவதை உறுதி செய்ய வேண்டும். அவர்களை கல்லுாரிகளுக்கு அழைக்க வேண்டாம். இவ்வாறு, கடிதத்தில் கூறப்பட்டுள்ளது.

Add UGC as party to PIL against no final exams for professional, non-professional courses: Bombay high court

Add UGC as party to PIL against no final exams for professional, non-professional courses: Bombay high court

TNN | Jul 7, 2020, 04.14 PM IST

MUMBAI: Bombay high court on Tuesday directed the University Grants Commission to be made party to a public interest litigation that seeks quashing of the state government's decision to issue degrees to over 10 lakh final year students of professional and non-professional courses by giving average marks based on their past performance.

A bench of justices Amjad Sayed and Makarand Karnik, via video conference, heard the PIL by Dhananjay Kulkarni, a retired teacher and an ex-senate member from Pune, that said Maharashtra government has no power to take such decision. Kulkarni challenged the June 19, 2020 government resolution saying under Maharashtra Public Universities Act, 2016 the chancellor has overall jurisdiction and the state has no power to take a decision about the exams.

On April 27, 2020 UGC directed all universities to conduct exams and declared its schedule. However after a student organisation wrote to the minister of Higher and Technical Education, the exams were postponed. The PIL states that the GR gives options to students to opt for exams or take the results based on average marks of their past performance. However this creates an "artificial classification" between students and violates Article 14 (Right to Equality)

According to the GR, there are 7, 34,516 students of non-professional courses and 2,83,947 students of professional courses in the final year.

Government pleader Priyabhushan Kakade with assistant GP Nisha Mehra, sought time to take instructions. But Kulkarni's advocate Uday Warunjikar urged for an earlier date "Already from April there is a complete mess. What is the fate of students in the last year? Students are not aware," he said.

Warunjikar also said not a single university has issued last year's mark sheets to students He said while UGC has directed that exams have to be held before September end, "the academic calendar will have changed and the new academic year will start." The judges took note that UGC is not a party respondent and allowed the PIL to be amended to join it. They posted the next hearing on July 17.