The Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry is set to hold meetings with state education secretaries and health officials this week to chalk out protocols for final assessment of degree students amid disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
This comes as some states cancelled college and university exams – which is against the University Grants Commissions’ (UGC) rules.
“A few states are not following protocol … they are ignoring that a degree without UGC approval does not mean anything. It’s there in the UGC Act, and it is binding. What they are doing is putting students’ future at risk and creating confusion,” a government official told Mint.
The UGC is the apex regulator of higher education in the country and has challenged states’ “unilateral decision to scrap exams against its directives.” The source added that states’ decisions will not stand against legal scrutiny.
“The UGC guidelines are mandatory and as of now, there is no going back. When UGC sought feedback from states and experts before issuing the recent guidelines, close to 70 per cent said exams will be beneficial and should be conducted,” one official asserted.
Among states, West Bengal and Delhi have declared that final exams for the year are cancelled due to COVID-19, choosing instead to rely on internal assessment or pass performance. Another four states, including Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu conveyed concerns about the mandatory rules to the Ministry, two other government officials told the paper.
In its directive on July 6, UGC said that exams are “crucial to ensure academic credibility, career opportunities and future progress of students.”
“The terminal semester(s) or final year(s) examinations be conducted by the universities and institutions by the end of September 2020, in offline (pen and paper)/online/ blended (online + offline) mode,” UGC said in its statement.
