Nashik: A day after University Grants Commission (UGC) announced compulsory exams for final-year students based on the recommendations of an internal committee, Maharashtra Higher and Technical Education Minister Uday Samant wrote to Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal, stating that in his opinion the July 6 guidelines are not mandatory but “mere advisory like the earlier guidelines”.
In his letter to the Union minister, Samant has also asked for uniform guidelines for awarding degrees to final-year students based on an appropriate formula.
Pointing out that Maharashtra is the most-affected state with more than two lakh confirmed Covid-19 cases, Samant in his letter said that the state government had taken the decision to cancel final-year exams based on earlier UGC guidelines that empowered the government to issue directions to universities and colleges regarding examinations.
“In such unforeseen, uncertain and critically challenging situation, conduct of final-year exams for approximately more than 10 lakh students seems highly infeasible and, if conducted, would endanger the wellbeing of students, parents, teachers, supporting staff and other machinery involved in the process,” Samant stated in his letter.
The two-page letter is also marked to Union home minister Amit Shah, secretary of higher education, government of India and UGC chairman.
The UGC has announced that “the final term exams are to be compulsorily conducted as per the UGC guidelines on examinations and academic calendar for the universities”, as per the Standard Operating Procedure approved by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. It also stated that the exams should be conducted by the end of September in either online, offline or in blended mode.