FILE
The guidelines formulated by the University Grants Commission (UGC) on the conduct of examinations in the country will be challenged in the Supreme Court. The revised guidelines, notified in July, mandated universities to conduct terminal semester, final year examinations by the end of September. "We are going to move Supreme Court to challenge UGC guidelines and seek relief for lakhs of students across India," India Wide Parents' Association chief Anubha Shrivastava Sahai told India TV Digital.
Taking to social media, many students said they wanted the UGC guidelines to be scrapped. "Results of final-year students should be declared on the basis of internal assessment (midsem, internal vivas, major projects/assignments) which has already been conducted by institutes+50% weightage can also be given to previous semester," a student opined. Another said the guidelines did not give due consideration to the infrastructural and demographic limitations of the education system. "Their adamant insistence on conducting traditional pen and paper exams during the pandemic will spell doom for students," Sharanya wrote on Twitter.
Ashish Kumar, a student, suggested UGC to cancel examinations and assess on the basis of previous semesters and projects/dissertation submitted by them. A provision should be made to conduct it for students who would be dissatisfied with their current results, whenever the situation permits, he further said.
Make UGC guidelines an "advisory" so that states can make their own decisions depending upon their situation, one said. "For online exams, we don't have a laptop or tablet. For the offline exam, our families won't let us travel," Abhishek wrote on Twitter.
UGC's position on the matter, however, remains unchanged. Earlier today, the UGC said over 640 universities responded on the holding of varsity exams. Out of these, 454 have either conducted the examination or are planning to conduct. 177 universities are yet to decide on the conduct of the examination, the UGC said. In the case of 27 private universities, established during 2019-2020 to till date, the first batch is yet to become eligible for the final examination, the commission said.
A week back, UGC Secretary Professor Rajnish Jain had said conducting final year exams for graduation or post-graduation courses is very important, and the safety of students is our prime concern. "Universities and colleges can opt to conduct exams through online, offline, or blended mode. Guidelines for the conduct of exams have been issued on the basis of the Standard Operating Procedure suggested by the Health Ministry. All states should conduct exams for final year students," he had said.
