Maharashtra Govt Doesn't Have Authority To Cancel Final Year Degree Exams: UGC Tells Bombay HC

The Maharashtra government had announced cancellation of final year university exams in the state. Aaditya Thackeray moved to Supreme Court over the matter.

Photo: PTI

Mumbai: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has told the Bombay High Court that the Maharashtra state government does not have the requisite authority to cancel final year university examinations.  The UGC filed an affidavit in response to a petition by Dhananjay Kulkarni who is a former university senate member and a retired teacher in Pune. Kulkarni had challenged the Maharashtra government's decision to cancel year-end exams. The state government had stated it has the power to cancel exams so under the Epidemic Diseases Act and Disaster Management Act. Considering the Coronavirus situation in the state, this step was taken. But the UGC has contended that such acts can not be cited for "rendering the statutory provisions of another special Act such as The University Grants Commissioner Act nugatory". The Uddhav Thackeray led government's decision "to defer the final year examinations or to graduate students without holding exams would directly affect the standards of higher education in the country," the UGC wrote in its affidavit. It asserted that the UGC was the apex body for regulating the standards of examination. "All universities/institutions in the country are obligated to conduct the final year examination by the end of September 2020," it re-stated. In case some students are unable to sit for exams due to serious reasons then they will be given another chance to appear for special assessments at a later point. According to the guidelines, the universities have the option to conduct the final-year tests online, offline (written), and blended mode. The Maharashtra government had taken the decision to cancel the final year external exams after a student group wrote to the state minister of Higher and Technical Education over the matter. Aaditya Thackeray had also moved the Supreme Court seeking cancellation of the final year university examinations in view of the Coronavirus situation. The next hearing of the petition in the Bombay High Court is on July 31. (With Agency Inputs) WATCH | Medical Students Upset After Announcement Of Exam Dates?