UGC panel suggests starting university & higher education academic sessions from September

In the wake of the lockdown in the country due to the ongoing battle against coronavirus pandemic, a panel appointed by the University Grants Commission (UGC) on Saturday has recommended that academic session in universities and higher educational institutions can be started from September instead of July.

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Two committees were appointed by UGC

Two committees were constituted by the UGC to look into the issues of academic loss and online education. One committee was led by Haryana University Vice-Chancellor RC Kuhad that was formed to look into the ways of conducting exams in universities amid the lockdown and work on an alternate academic calendar. The second committee was formed to suggest measures to improve online education, which was led by Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) Vice-Chancellor Nageshwar Rao. Both the panels submitted their reports on Friday.

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Panel suggests online exams to varsities with infrastructure

"One panel has recommended that the academic session be started from September than July. The second panel has suggested that universities should conduct online exams if they have the infrastructure and means or wait for the lockdown to get over and then decide a date for pen-and-paper examinations," a source said speaking to PTI.

According to HRD Ministry officials, the two reports will now be studied and official guidelines in this regard are expected to be notified by next week.

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