New Delhi: Out of 818 universities, 603 of them have either conducted the examinations or are planning to conduct them, announced University Gants Commission (UGC) today after receiving responses from universities with regard to conducting final-year or terminal semester examination in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic.
Additionally, the Supreme Court said it will hear the pleas of 31 students challenging the latest UGC circular on conducting of the final year examinations in the next two days. The plea will also seek cancellations of the examinations.
Earlier, the regulator shared that at least 168 universities had expressed their uncertainties in conducting the final year exams. At least six states and Union territories including Delhi, Punjab and West Bengal have expressed their inability to conduct the final year, final semester exam as mandated by the UGC.
Moreover, last week, a total of 755 universities shared the status of conducting final-year exams with UGC. Out of 755 universities, the UGC said that 321 were state universities, 274 private, 120 deemed and 40 central universities. Of these, it added, a total of 566 universities had already conducted their exams or were planning to conduct them in August or September.
From these 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. In a 6 July circular, the apex education regulator had said institutions will only be conducting their final year and final semester exam at the end of September not before that. “The terminal semester(s)/ final year(s) examinations be conducted by the universities/ institutions by the end of September, 2020 in offline (pen and paper)/online/ blended (online + offline) mode,” UGC said in a statement.
The regulator said during the current pandemic time, it is “important to safeguard the principles of health, safety, fair and equal opportunity for students”. However, it clarified that its decision not to scrap the final semester and final year exams is based in academic prudence and need for maintaining credibility. Apart from that, the Delhi High Court today asked the UGC to clarify that can final year examinations by the universities be conducted based on Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ), open choices, assignments and presentations, instead of long form exams.
The high court was hearing a plea challengingDU’s decision to hold Open Book Examination (OBE) for final year undergraduate courses which will be in long form exams. Justice Prathiba M Singh asked the University Grants Commission (UGC) to explain the import of its guidelines issued in April, which mentioned the type of examinations that can be held by a college, for conducting final year exams.
The high court listed the matter for further hearing on July 24. All educational educations across India were closed for the past few months due to Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns.
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