UGC Guidelines 2020: Students Still Wait For A Breather; Check Key Points & Developments So Far

University students still await the UGC's decision about the exams scheduled in July. Here is what has happened so far.

Image: PTI

New Delhi: Despite demands from students and also appeal from the Education minister Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has yet to issue fresh guidelines for university exams. Media reports had said that the UGC plans to cancel the exams to be held in July, and the commencement of the new session is likely to be deferred to October. Students across the country have been demanding the cancelation of exams due to safety concerns as the cases of Coronavirus across the country keep on rising. Earlier, Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank had asked the UGC to revisit the guidelines issued for intermediate and terminal semester examinations for universities and colleges. It also asked the body to review the academic calendar.  Here is what has happened so far

• Seven states cancel college and university exams- Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Odisha, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and West Bengal have decided to cancel the exams without waiting for the UGC’s fresh guidelines. However, some private universities will continue to conduct online examinations in these States.
• The Tamil Nadu Higher Education Department on Saturday formed an 11-member committee to make recommendations regarding the conduct of University semester exams.“Universities under the aegis of the higher education department are not in a position to conduct the semester exams in view of the pandemic outbreak,” the order noted. The committee has been asked to make recommendations about semester exams based on UGC guidelines.
• 'No More Wait UGC' trends on Twitter as lakhs of students await the new guidelines by UGC regarding the final semester Exams. Students demand cancellation of exams due to the increasing number in Coronavirus cases in the country.

• The expert committee which is being headed by Haryana University vice-chancellor R C Kuhad had earlier recommended that the examinations due in July in most universities as per the revised academic calendar be cancelled and marks for final examination be awarded based on the past performance of each student. Students are still waiting for official confirmation.