A Youth Congress delegation led by State unit president Satyajeet Tambe met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Thursday and requested his support to call off the final year university exams in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Following the meeting, Mr. Tambe took to Twitter and said the Youth Congress would start State-wide agitations if the Governor fails to meet their demand.
In its charter of demands, the delegation sought results to be declared based on the aggregate marks secured by students in the previous semester exams. “It is imperative that this uniform process announced by the University Grants Commission is followed by every university and college in the country to avoid lapses,” Mr. Tambe said.
The delegation also said universities should not charge fees for the current or upcoming semesters as there is no clarity when colleges will reopen and the next set of exams will be conducted. It also demanded varsities to refund the exam fees collected from students. “Students from less affluent and middle-class families are experiencing extreme financial difficulties as a result of the extended lockdown. It is imperative for the authorities to grant them relief in the form of a fee waiver,” said the letter.
The other demands included promoting students with backlogs and promptly providing stipends and fellowships to research students registered under State universities. “Due to COVID-19, researchers registered under State universities are not getting their stipends or fellowships. This is the biggest hurdle in research work. The university should pay the fellowship,” Youth Congress vice-president Brijkishor Dutt said.
The delegation also said students working on the ground and volunteering to help authorities fight COVID-19 should be paid through an ‘earn and learn scheme’ in order to encourage more students to come forward and serve society.