Over 700 universities inform UGC about status of exams; 366 plan dates in Aug, Sept

A total of 566 universities among 755 had already conducted their exams or were planning to conduct them in August or September, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has been informed. The UGC had sought the status of conducting exams by universities after it issued revised guidelines on July 6 to educational institutions across the country for conducting terminal semester and final year examinations.

Of these 755 universities, the UGC said that 321 were state universities, 274 private, 120 deemed, and 40 central universities. Out of the total of 560 universities, 194 have already conducted their exams, and 366 are planning to conduct them in August or September. The UGC said that among the respondents were 27 private universities. Some of them informed the commission that their first batches are yet to become eligible for final exams.

All educational institutes across India were closed for the past few months due to COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns.

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UGC's guidelines invite backlash

Earlier in the day, Maharashtra cabinet minister and Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray moved the Supreme Court against the Centre's decision to conduct final year exams for colleges and universities in September after they were postponed in view of coronavirus outbreak and lockdown. The petition, filed by the Yuva Sena led by Aaditya Thackeray, demanded students be promoted based on the aggregate of marks scored so far in their academic year.

After UGC's July 6 guidelines, 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.

Former UGC chairman Sukhadeo Thorat termed the statutory body's advisory on holding examinations as "unfortunate", saying it creates fresh uncertainty for states that have decided to cancel the final year exams. In a letter to the UGC, Thorat and teachers from various varsities have requested it to reconsider the advisory and cancel exams for the final semester/year to protect the interests of students.

Earlier, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had 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.

Punjab CM Amarinder Singh, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal have also requested the Centre to drop the final year exams citing the threat of the pandemic.

(With inputs from ANI) (PTI Photo for representation)

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