Maharashtra Higher and Technical Education Minister Uday Samant. (File)The Maharashtra government said on Friday it respected the decision of the Supreme Court that college and university students could not be promoted without holding final-year or terminal examinations, and said it would hold talks with students, parents, university vice-chancellors and the state administration officials to “figure out” modalities to conduct the exams.
A Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan ruled Friday that states cannot promote students without holding final-year exams. It said state governments could approach the University Grants Commission for new dates if they can’t conduct exams by September 30 amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Maharashtra was among the states that had demanded that final-year exams be cancelled in view of students’ safety amid the pandemic.
Nearly nine lakh students in non-agricultural universities are due to appear for final-year exams across the state.
“Respecting the decision of the Supreme Court regarding the (final-year) examination, the state government will have to figure out a way on conducting the examinations by taking care of the health of the students,” state Higher and Technical Education Minister Uday Samant said at a media briefing. He said the government would “hold discussions with students, university vice-chancellors, parents, district collectors and local administration before arriving at a decision”.
While the health of the students will be a priority, Samant said the government will also ensure they get sufficient time to prepare after a decision in the matter is taken.
“All safety measures and protocols announced will be followed for conducting the exams. A decision will be made on when, where and in what format to conduct the exams based on discussions with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, the State Disaster Management Committee, along with the police and other stakeholders,” he added.
State Tourism Minister and Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray, who wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week seeking his intervention for cancelling the final-year examinations, welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to leave it to the state governments to decide on when and how to hold examinations.
“As the Yuva Sena, we welcome the decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court. The Hon’ble SC has upheld our most important point: to uphold the decision of Maharashtra State Disaster Management Authority,” Aaditya tweeted.
In another tweet, he wrote: “The Hon’ble SC has reiterated that it is up to the respective state governments to decide on when and how to hold examinations, not at the insistence of the 30th September deadline of the UGC.”
Aaditya said the Yuva Sena stood firmly for the well-being and good health of the students, teachers, non-teaching staff and their families.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Ashish Shelar has welcomed the SC order. “Ten lakh students in the state have been put through mental distress. We kept pointing to the cons of cancelling exams, but there were ego issues. The trust of the Governor and vice-chancellors was also not sought,” he said.