'Violations of University Act': Maha Guv rejects CM's proposal to cancel final year exams

Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Tuesday criticized and turned down the proposal of CM Uddhav Thackeray to cancel the final year university examinations amid Coronavirus pandemic situation and called it 'unprecedented and violations of the University Act.'

'Without any profound thinking on legal repercussions'

According to an official statement, Koshyari asserted that the Chancellor of Universities has the final authority over all university matters as per the provisions of the Maharashtra Public Universities Act. He also conveyed to Uddhav Thackeray that decision regarding holding the examinations of final year students 'shall be taken in consonance with the provisions of the Maharashtra Public Universities Act.'

He was "surprised" to learn through media reports that the CM had declared that "no examinations shall be conducted this year", Koshyari said. "Describing the announcement of the cancellation of examinations by the Chief Minister as "unprecedented" and made "without any profound thinking on the legal repercussions", the Governor remarked that the decision, if implemented, would jeopardise the future of students," the statement said.

In the letter, the Governor wrote, "The University Grants Commission (UGC) and other central authorities are of the view that the final year examination may not be dispensed with and that therefore the State Government should abide by the UGC guidelines along with the provisions of the Maharashtra Universities Act, 2017." The Governor pointed out that during his video conference with Vice Chancellors, all the Vice-Chancellors of state universities had communicated their preparedness for conducting their respective examinations.

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'Examinations cannot be made optional'

The Governor stated he had clearly mentioned that the Chancellors' office shall give further directions after accepting the recommendations of the committee partially or fully once the report was received by him, the statement said. "The arbitrary decision has violated the basic principle that to obtain an identical degree, there cannot be two sets of criteria, one who has given examination and for the other who has obtained marks on average. The examinations cannot be made optional," the statement quoted the Governor as saying.

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Thackeray in an address to the State on Sunday evening announced that with the lockdown extended till June 30, the State has no choice but to promote final-year students based on their performance of the previous semester and academic year. Earlier on Saturday, Thackeray directed Vice-Chancellors of non-agricultural universities in the State to find out ways to end uncertainty over holding examinations for the delayed academic session.

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Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saaamana, on Tuesday, had said in its editorial that the Governor insisted on holding the final year exams of degree students, but Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray rejected it, showing "the spine Thackerays are known for".

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(With agency inputs)