New Delhi: Students in universities and colleges across India will have to now “compulsorily” take their final-year exams this year.
In a press statement issued late Monday evening, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said: “Ministry of Home Affairs, in a letter to the Union Higher Education Secretary, today permitted conduct of examinations by universities and institutions.”
The MHA statement, however, didn’t clarify the mode — online or offline — in which the exams would be conducted.
“The final term examinations are to be compulsorily conducted as per the UGC guidelines on examinations and academic calendar and as per the standard operating procedure approved by the MoHFW (Ministry of Health and Family Welfare),” it added.
UGC also in favour of holding final exams
Following the statement, senior officials in the University Grants Commission (UGC) confirmed to ThePrint the UGC is also in favour of holding final exams, and will ask all states and central universities to conduct the final exams.
The UGC will allow institutes to conduct exams in the mode most feasible to them, officials added.
“There was a meeting of the commission members today and there is a decision in favour of conducting exams. The MHA and MoHFW have also given the due permission now and the universities will be allowed to conduct exams keeping all the social distancing protocols put in place by the government,” a senior UGC official told ThePrint.
“In the interest of the students and academic credibility, exams cannot be bypassed and institutions must have final exams. How they want to do it and when they can conduct the exams is up to them, but they will have to conduct exams,” the official added.
According to the minutes of UGC meeting, accessed by ThePrint, the commission will give universities time until September to finish their final-year exams either in offline or online mode.
“The commission approved the recommendations of the expert committee regarding conduct of final-year examinations to be completed by the end of September 2020 in offline/online/blended mode,” according to the minutes.
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States, which cancelled exams, have to reconsider
According to a resolution passed during the UGC meeting, states that have cancelled exams will have to reconsider their decision and they cannot opt for internal assessment.
Many states, including Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala, have decided to cancel the final exams for university students, while Gujarat, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh have been waiting for UGC directions.
The UGC had in May released an academic calendar based on suggestions from an expert committee headed by Central University of Haryana Vice-Chancellor R.C. Kuhad.
The calendar had taken into account the pandemic situation during that time, and suggested that pen and paper exams can be conducted in July if local conditions are favourable.
In June, however, looking at the rising number of Covid-19 cases across the country, Minister of Human Resource Development Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank had asked the UGC to re-visit the guidelines.
I have advised the @ugc_india to revisit the guidelines issued earlier for intermediate and Terminal Semester examinations and academic calendar. The foundation for revisited guidelines shall be health and safety students, teachers and staff.@PIB_India @MIB_India @DDNewslive
— Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (@DrRPNishank) June 24, 2020
Also read: In India, over 32 crore students hit by Covid-19 as schools and colleges are shut: UNESCO
In this case UGC should conduct only the final exams for PG and PhD students as it is possible to seat them by maintaining a 2-gauze distance for each candidate pairs just as their exams as well as classes can be taken face-face due to the number of seats as well as the number of applicants in these courses being significantly lower and it should also exempt UG students from final exams instead of conducting them as it is not possible to seat them by maintaining a 2-gauze distance for each candidate pairs just as their exams as well as classes can not be taken face-face due to the number of seats as well as the number of applicants in these courses being significantly higher
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Please don’t take exams because this is not good to conduct the exams in this situation. Please promote final year students .
Many reasons are bothering us right now. Increasing number of Covid 19 cases, State to State transportation during this pandemic, no notes and hardly anything taught in this semester, wastage of almost a year, accommodation problems because many students left their rented rooms because we failed to pay room rents for the months we weren’t staying there. Therefore, going to appear exams will need to us to look for rooms and this will get us in contact with people who might be already affected by the virus. Thus, finally ending up in hospitals rather than exam center and that also all alone without care.
Even if university is going to take online exam, we have to go to that state and at least for 17 days we have to quarantine ourselves……how can they even think of taking/conducting exams..when the covid19 is at its peak.
Very poor decision.
Now it not time to do politics because it is time save the young genration already they prove six semister that students have knowledge of their respective subject and skill also wht they have to prove only one Mark’s memo cant show their talent see our country already dug or drawn in deep with politics let give space to common people let them free to take air we are the studentfrom poor families middleclass families we are not cowards we are brave students we always ready to exam but this time excuse us when we are heathy we built nation
This is a time of result and issuing degree certificates to Students.
Pl.online final term exam., Should be Conducted by concern Colleges.
And stop verious type of discussions
I appreciate the descision but social distancing and care cannot be taken care if outsider students are coming from different states and living in hostels where conditions are really bad
In 100 years once students cannot be promoted esp final semester who’s already proved him/her by giving three semesters .pls provide insurance against covid for such students .what value the result will hold if he is not able to survive to use it .how can such a decision be taken without concerning those for whom this is getting decided. Must come out with some win win solution .cannot take up this one sided descisin
This is absolutely the worst decision they could have taken. Why am I not surprised…
Evaluation of the terminal semester students which was to be done through examinations in the month of July, now their examinations will be conducted by the end of September-2020