Supreme Court To Hear Plea By 31 Students Challenging New UGC Guidelines For Final Year University Exam

The Supreme Court is going to hear a plea filed by 31 students who are challenging the UGC's latest guidelines on final year university exams.

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New Delhi: 31 students have challenged the latest order by the University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines which made it mandatory for universities to conduct final year exams. According to information by the news agency ANI, the Supreme Court will hear the plea filed by the students in the next two days. The students have also sought cancellations of examinations. According to the latest guidelines by the UGC, it is mandatory for universities to conduct final year exams by the end of September. Varsities are allowed to choose any mode for the exams – pen and paper, online, or a combination of both as per the feasibility and suitability. The UGC received a backlash for the new guidelines as there are concerns about the safety of students. But despite that, the UGC has said that out of the 640 universities, 454 universities have either conducted the examination or are planning to conduct it. UGC Secretary Prof Rajnish Jain, had said in a report by ANI, "Conducting final year examinations for graduation or post-graduation courses is very important, and the safety of students is our prime concern.” The guidelines also stated that:

• Examinations are mandatory for the students who have a backlog. Such students must be compulsorily evaluated by conducting examinations in offline, online or combined mode.

 

• In case a final year students is unable to appear in the examination for any reason, he/she may be given the opportunity to appear in special examinations for such course/ paper which may be conducted by the university as and when feasible. This is applicable for the current academic session (2019-20) as a one time special measure.

 

• Guidelines regarding the intermediate semesters remain the same as per the UGC Exam Guidelines 2020 released on April 29, 2020.

  Due to rising cases of Covid 19, several states have also opposed UGC’s decision. While Punjab government has written to the centre to reconsider the decision on final year exams, Maharashtra cabinet minister Aaditya Thackeray has also filed a petition in the Supreme Court against decision.