UGC Exam Guidelines should be advisory not mandatory says Maharashtra Education Minister

Maharashtra Higher and Technical Education Minister Uday Samant have recently written a letter to Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’. In the letter, the Maharashtra Higher Education Minister argued saying that the revised University Grants Commission or UGC Exam Guidelines about exam schedules and academic calendar should be “advisory” and not “mandatory”. The revised UGC Exam Guidelines were released by the University Grant Commission on July 6, 2020. The UGC Exam Guidelines sparked discontent among students across the country. Read on to know more about it.

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UGC Exam Guidelines: What was revised?

As per the revised UGC Exam Guidelines State, educational departments were suggested to conduct final year university exams by September-end in online, offline via pen-and-paper method, or in blended online and offline mode. However, Maharashtra State Government at this point has decided to cancel final year exams altogether. Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had previously written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting him to direct the supreme regulatory bodies of the country to “endorse the decision of state governments”. 

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Across the country students and parents are keeping an eye out for UGC exam news. However, the latest UGC Exam Guidelines have sparked discontent among students across India. This is the fourth time that UGC Final Year Exams have been rescheduled, however, it is still unclear if they will be conducted. Students and parents have taken to Twitter to express their frustration. In the mid of June revised UGC Exams Guidelines were released stating that UGC Final Year Exams have been cancelled. However, on July 6 as per UGC news, the exams were rescheduled for the end of September 2020.

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Maharashtra Higher Education Minister News

As per the reports of a media portal, Minister Uday Samant argued that the Maharashtra government’s decision was in line with the April guidelines by UGC. Thus, it had lend autonomy to universities across the state to make modifications and deal with the situation, keeping in mind the best interest of students. He added that conducting UGC final year exams for almost more than 10 lakh students seems preposterous and infeasible task. In spite of this if UGC exams are conducted it would endanger the wellbeing of students, teachers, parents and even the supporting staff. Aside from Maharashtra, states such as Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Haryana and Rajasthan have already cancelled all higher education exams as they didn’t expect the revised UGC Exam Guidelines.

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