'Academic excellence can't be judged by 1 exam': Aaditya Thackeray on SC plea against UGC

Highlighting Maharashtra Yuva Sena's writ petition in the Supreme Court against holding exams for final year exams, Cabinet Minister Aaditya Thackeray on Saturday said that the petition is for each and every student across the country 'being forced' to appear for an examination. Leader of Shiv Sena's Youth Wing, Thackeray also stated that it believes that academic excellence cannot be judged by one examination. He also termed UGC's guidelines mandating term-end exams as a 'bizarre judgement' of the situation. 

"We believe that academic excellence can’t be judged by 1 examination and for academic excellence, we must calculate the aggregate marks of the past semesters. Beyond which, if students still feel the need to appear for an examination, they voluntarily may do so post covid," Thackeray tweeted after the petition was filed on Saturday. 

READ | Aaditya Thackeray Moves SC Against UGC's Decision To Hold Final Year Exams Amid COVID-19

Yuva Sena moves SC

The Centre was "ignoring physical and mental health, anxiety and safety of students across the country" in allowing examinations to be held, the Yuva Sena said in its statement. The University Grants Commission (UGC) has failed to understand the dilemma of the situation, it further said. The youth wing noted that the challenges in conducting exams included the risk of COVID-19 transmission as students and exam invigilators travel to and from exam centres.

READ | Exams During Covid: 177 Universities Yet To Decide On Conducting Examinations, Says UGC

The Yuva Sena demanded students to be promoted based on the aggregate of marks scored so far in their academic year. The Maharashtra government earlier said that students looking to improve on these averages could appear for exams, but only when these can be conducted safely.

Opposition against revised guidelines

After the announcement, parents, students, and various state governments raised their objection over the safety and security of the students during exams given to the fact that COVID-19 cases continue to mount in the country. Earlier, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had also slammed the UGC for planning to conduct final term examinations amid the COVID-19 pandemic, calling the move “unfair”. Gandhi demanded the cancellation of exams and suggested that students should be promoted on the basis of past performance.

Several Chief Ministers including Arvind Kejriwal, Capt Amarinder Singh and Mamata Banerjee have expressed concern over conducting exams in the present environment and urged the HRD Ministry to roll back its order.

READ | Ex-UGC Chief Demands Cancellation Of Final Year Exams

READ | HRD To Meet State Education Secretaries To Resolve Differences Over Final Year Exams