UGC has issued the new guidelines for the conduction of university exams.
UGC has decided that it will not award the degree to final year students without conducting the exam, but some students had moved Supreme Court against this decision of UGC, then its decision is taken by Supreme court now. Supreme court will decide whether the exams will be conducted or not. Although the hearing, in this case, has been completed in the Supreme Court, the verdict is still to come. The hearing, in this case, was completed on 18 August. The bench has given three days to the states and the UGC to present their final written arguments. The court will also decide whether states have the power under the Disaster Management Act to postpone the final examination until the situation returns to normal, contrary to the UGC guidelines.
There is no difference in the guidelines issued by the UGC on 22 April 2020 and 6 July 2020. In the guidelines of 22 April, the UGC gave instructions to conduct the examinations till 31 August, while in the guidelines of 6 July, the instructions have been given to hold the examinations till 30 September.
There is a change in the pattern of Bachelors degree
The BVoc degree initiated in 2013 will still continue, but vocational courses will also be available for students to enrol in all other Bachelor degree programs, including a four-year multidisciplinary Bachelor program. ‘Lok Vidya’, that is, critical vocational knowledge developed in India, will be made accessible to students through integration into vocational education courses.
Odisha government also in favour of cancellation of exam
The Government of Odisha said that due to increasing cases of COVID-19, it is not possible to conduct examinations in view of the health of the students.
Both sides submitted their arguments
While students have opposed the move citing health risks, some state governments have also refused to conduct the exam due to the epidemic. However, UGC is adamant that its guidelines are mandatory in nature and this degree cannot be conferred without conducting the examination.
May be postponed but not cancelled
During Tuesday’s hearing, the UGC also told the court that degrees cannot be awarded to students without examinations, and therefore the examinations may be postponed, but they cannot be cancelled.
