New Delhi: Universities should conduct online exams if they have the wherewithal or wait for the lockdown to get over and then decide a date for pen-and-paper examinations. Two expert committees led by vice-chancellors (V-C) have recommended this to the University Grants Commission (UGC), ThePrint has learnt.
Semester exams are pending in most of the universities and colleges due to the lockdown.
The two committees were constituted by the UGC to look into the issues of academic loss and online education in the wake of the Covid-19 lockdown in the country. The issues pertained to holding of exams, online classes and the new academic session.
One of the committees is led by Haryana University Vice-Chancellor R.C. Kuhad. It was formed to look into the ways of conducting exams in universities amid the lockdown. The other committee, formed to suggest measures to improve online education, is led by Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) V-C Nageshwar Rao.
Both the committees have submitted their reports to the UGC Friday and the government is now expected to issue a set of guidelines for universities and colleges by early next week based on the recommendations.
Confirming the development, UGC Secretary Rajnish Jain told ThePrint: “The committees have submitted their report today. The government will now look at the recommendations and issue guidelines based on that by next week.”
He, however, refused to divulge other details of the reports.
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‘Reports are not binding in nature’
Sources in the UGC and in the committees told ThePrint that the members of the panels have given a lot of freedom to universities and have left it upto them on how they want to take the academic session forward.
A source in the UGC, who is privy to the reports, said, “The reports are not binding in nature and a mere suggestion to the universities. The recommendations include conducting online exams wherever possible. If a university has the means, including the infrastructure to conduct online exams, they should go ahead with it. Ones that do not have the means should wait for the lockdown to get over and then conduct a pen and paper exam.
“One of the suggestions is to promote students on the basis of their performance in the previous semesters, if a university is unable to conduct exams. The committees have suggested that the number of papers be reduced in case the universities want to hold fresh assessment and are not willing to promote students on the basis of their past performance,” the source added.
Look at local situations before starting new session
Holding online exams is something the UGC officials did not agree to because they felt universities, specially the ones in the far-flung areas, do not have the means to conduct them.
On the beginning of the new academic session, the committees suggested that the universities should take a call looking at the Covid-19 situation locally.
“If an area has less coronavirus cases or it is declared a green zone by the government, universities in that area can decide to start the academic sessions as per schedule but if the local situation does not permit, they will have to wait,” said a member of one of the committees, who didn’t want to be named.
Usually, the new academic session begins between July and August in universities and colleges. But this year, there is a huge uncertainty on that front in the wake of the pandemic.
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I want to join i think about this exam
Yaha pr exam ki taiyari karate hai kya?
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Good
But exam ki tyari nhi ho payi exam Ka Kuch pta hi nhi tha kB honge
online exam can create most of problems like network ,some of students living in rural areas arenot having internet facilities so online exam should be problematic
Honestly there is no need for the Universities to panic regarding the semester exams. Online exams should be discouraged because of internet problem and cheating.
The exams are better conducted in pen and paper possibly in the month of June or July and let the next academic session begin by end of August or early September.
Easier said than done.Do you realise how much exams there is one semester.If they ever give out verdict of having this semester exam and the next semester in one semester it would drain the students to its core.People would have to write 12-13 subjects in one semester and not counting the practicals and this not counting the students who has back logs and such.Do you realise how much tension and potential failure it would produce.
What about students who are away from the college or come from other states kilometres away how can they write exams there are high chances the virus may spread because of this we can’t risk life for a single semester it is better to promote on the previous semester basis as per the point of the article,even colleges like GITAM Bangalore has more than 80% of student population from the neighbouring states how can they travel and give exams or stay on hostels it is matter to think wisely School colleges are same if one gets the infection all get it’ll just multiple.