UGC Exam News: What did the HRD ministry advise UGC on exams & academic calendar?

The HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank announced today on June 24th about the new updates with regards to the UGC exam news. He advised the University Grants Commission to reconsider the guidelines that they had earlier issued for intermediate and term-end semester exams. He also advised postponing the commencement of the new academic calendar as well. He took the decision in the wake of the current situation of the pandemic in the country and thus prioritising the health of the students and the teachers. 

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HRD minister on UGC exam

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UGC recently urged Universities to set up a Grievance Redressal Cell 

The University Grants Commission (UGC) issued a circular to all universities asking them to set up a cell for students to address their queries regarding examinations and other academic activities that were on put on halt due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

In wake of the situation arising due to the pandemic, the UGC had issued guidelines on the Examination and Academic Calendar on April 29. As per the latest guidelines, all universities have been advised to plan their academic activities with a focus on the safety and interest of all stakeholders and prioritizing the health of all concerned. The UGC has also established a task force to monitor grievances of students, teachers, and institutions and to redress them.

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UGC's last updates on the academic calendar for 2020

• UGC had ordered all the universities to conduct the exams of final semester students from July. However, due to the current rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in India, many students and parents filed petitions to cancel the CBSE board exams. This led the other exams which were to be conducted in July to be put on a halt.
• Earlier, the UGC had stated that the new academic year of 2020-2021 will begin by September for all the freshers, while the already enrolled students would start from August. 
• The UGC had earlier announced that the intermediate students would be graded based on their internal assessment. Thus, they had announced the pending exams for all the colleges to be conducted in July. 
• Currently, in the wake of the increasing Coronavirus cases in the country, the HRD ministry has now advised the UGC to extend the dates and revise their academic calendar for the 2020 session. 

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