Out of the 755 universities across India, 366 are planning to hold exams in August or September, as per the revised guidelines issued by the University Grants Commission (UGC) which ask the varsities to hold exams “mandatorily” by September. Despite facing opposition from students and teachers, the UGC is still in the favour of conducting exams. It has allowed universities to choose the mode of their liking. The universities can hold their final year exams online, offline, or in blended mode, as deemed fit by the varsity.
Several states including Delhi, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu—have opposed the revised guidelines and have decided against holding the exams for final-year students. Respective chief ministers of Delhi, West Bengal, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu had also written letters to the central government demanding rollback of these guidelines.
UGC former chairperson along with 27 other academicians had also written to the commission asking to cancel the exams. The letter had read, “Those who argue that cancelling exams will devalue degrees must explain how holding a farcical ‘virtual’ exam that lacks the basic features of the real thing will enhance their value.”
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“Protects the integrity of the examination by refusing to abandon its two most basic features – impartiality, or equal treatment of all examinees; and close supervision to prevent cheating, read the letter,” it addded.
Human Resource Development Minister (HRD) Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank had in a series of tweets emphasised the importance of exams. Pokhriyal wrote, “In any education model, assessment is one of the most important milestones. Performance in exams gives students self-confidence and satisfaction.”
He, however, also said that special exams should be held for students who might not be able to appear for exams by September.
The UGC informed that as many as 194 universities have already conducted their final-year exams and 27 private universities — established during 2019-20 which have no student in the final year yet. Of the total 755 universities, 120 are deemed universities, 274 private, 40 central universities, and 321 state universities, informed UGC.
Courtesy: The Indian Express
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