UGC revised guidelines stated that term-end exams will be held in September (Representational image)
After students and academicians voiced strong opposition to holding term-end exams, the Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank reiterated that those students who do not wish to appear for the final year or semester exams will have a chance to appear for the same later. The University Grants Commission (UGC) in its revised guidelines said that exams for final year students will be held in September.
Pokhriyal said that the universities can conduct these exams anytime based on the convenience of students. He said that the decision on postponing exams was taken due to the COVID-19 pandemic was taken after consultation with the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Home Affairs.
In a series of tweets, Nishank said, “The health and safety of students as well as giving them unbias and equal opportunities are our primary concerns. We also have to ensure future global career and academic prospects of the students.” Emphasising the importance of exams, Pokhriyal wrote, “In any education model, assessment is one of the most important milestones. Performance in exams gives students self-confidence and satisfaction.”
The series of tweets written form Pokhriyal’s personal Twitter handle came after several states had denied following the UGC guidelines on final year exams. After West Bengal, Odisha, Maharashtra, and Punjab, today Delhi has also said that it will not hold the term-end exams because of the increasing coronavirus cases. As per the latest data, India has recorded over lakh (as many as 8,20,916 cases) of coronavirus.
However, the HRD Minister’s tweet hint that the decision of cancellation of exams is unlikely. As reported by The Indian Express earlier, the union government is unlikely to withdraw the exam-related guidelines. In fact, the UGC will insist these guidelines are adopted by all universities and colleges.