UGC Guidelines for final year exams, revised academic calendar to be released soon

On June 24, various media reports suggested that the revised UGC guidelines are expected to be released by the higher education regulator within a week's time.

University Grants Commission (UGC) is expected to release revised UGC guidelines regarding final year exams and academic calendar soon. On June 24, various media reports suggested that the revised UGC guidelines are expected to be released by the higher education regulator within a week's time. Reports also quoted officials saying that exams for final year students of universities and higher education institutions which were scheduled for the month of July are likely to be cancelled due to a steep increase in the number of COVID-19 positive cases. The officials also revealed that the commencement of the new session is likely to be deferred to October.

The reports of UGC revising its examination guidelines started making rounds when Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' tweeted that he advised University Grants Commission (UGC) to revisit the guidelines issued earlier for intermediate and terminal semester examination, and the academic calendar in view of the increasing COVID-19 cases in the country.

According to officials, a panel, set up by UGC and headed by Haryana University vice-chancellor R C Kuhad is asked to revisit the guidelines and come up with alternative options.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana scrapped the university examinations for final-year students. The students will be promoted in these states based on their previous performances.

A senior official stated, "The ministry has made it clear that the foundation for revisited guidelines shall be the health and safety of students, teachers and staff. The expert committee is of the view that the examinations due in July in most universities as per the revised academic calendar be cancelled and marks for final examination be awarded based on the past performance of each student.

"Students who are not happy with the final marks being given to them based on previous examinations can be given a chance to improvise their scores by taking examinations later when the pandemic subsides.”

The official added, "Similarly, the commencement of the new academic session, which was earlier planned for already enrolled students from August and freshers from September, is also likely to be deferred to October. The deliberations are on and final guidelines in this regard will be announced soon. However, any guidelines framed will be subject to review depending upon the COVID-19 situation," the official added.

According to the latest guidelines released by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on July 29, schools, colleges and educational institutions will remain closed until July 31 due to the rise in the novel coronavirus cases in the Country.

Read More:

• UGC panel recommends scrapping final year examinations of all Universities
• University Final-Year Exams also to be cancelled? UGC plans to revise Exam Guidelines 2020