UGC to revise exam guidelines for intermediate and terminal semester exams, academic calendar; decision taken due to COVID-19

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has decided to revise exam guidelines due the coronavirus pandemic. The decision has been taken after several educational institutions, students and parents raised safety concerns in view of the current situation. Union Minister of Human Resource Development Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank also stated on Twitter that he had advised the UGC to “revisit the guidelines issued earlier for intermediate and Terminal Semester examinations and academic calendar.” He said that the new guidelines should be formulated keeping in mind the health and safety of students, teachers and staff.

I have advised the @ugc_india to revisit the guidelines issued earlier for intermediate and Terminal Semester examinations and academic calendar. The foundation for revisited guidelines shall be health and safety students, teachers and staff.@PIB_India @MIB_India @DDNewslive

— Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (@DrRPNishank) June 24, 2020

Besides the minister, a panel appointed by the UGC also suggested that all examinations, including papers for final year, should be cancelled. The panel headed by Haryana University vice-chancellor RC Kuhad recommended that students should be evaluated on the basis of their previous semester examinations and internal assessments. The committee said that holding exams at this time would put lakhs of students at risk of exposure and increase the rate of spread of the COVID-19. The UGC is making new guidelines taking into consideration the prevailing situation, reported The Times of India quoting All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) chairman Anil Sahasrabuddhe. The regulator has brought all the apex professional bodies like AICTE, Bar Council of India, Architecture Council and Pharmacy Council on board, added Sahasrabuddhe. Issuing the guidelines earlier in April, the UGC had said the exams for final semester students should be conducted in July. However, it clarified that the guidelines are advisory in nature and universities may adopt their own plan. “Intermediate students will be graded based on internal assessment of the present and previous semester. In states where the COVID-19 situation has normalised, there will be exams in the month of July,” it said.