On 18th August 2020, the Supreme Court of India reserved its order on the plea filed by final year students seeking the cancelation of exams against the University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines. Although the court has suspended the hearing on August 18, the final decision is yet to come.
The Supreme Court has granted three days to the UGC and all other parties concerned with the case to file their written arguments.
The Court will give its final decision on whether the states under the disaster management act hold the power to postpone the exams by going against the UGC guidelines that will further be concluded on Monday.
As per the UGC guidelines, the final year students will have to appear for final year exams while the intermediate students will be promoted based on past semesters and internal assessment results.
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SC ASKS CAN SDMA DIRECT TO CANCEL EXAMS OVERRIDING UGC GUIDELINES?
Now the students and Indian institutions are waiting for Supreme Court’s verdict that will be announced soon. The court is however expected to announce its decision by Monday.
The three-tier bench comprising of Justice R. Subhash Reddy, Justices Ashok Bhushan, and MR Shah heard the hearing on 18th August and therefore reserved the orders of conducting final year exams until the next hearing. The three-judge bench heard the arguments from Maharashtra, Delhi, and West Bengal before reserving its orders.
What does UGC Guidelines Demand?
The UGC guidelines issued on July 6, 2020, are no different from the guidelines issued on April 22, 2020.
According to the UGC guidelines issued on April 22, the UGC instructed Indian Universities to conduct exams by August 31. Whereas the revised guidelines issued on July 6, commands Universities to conduct exams by 30th September.
The University Grant Commission has mandated the conduct of final year exams. The UGC initiated the decision as it felt that the knowledge of the students can only be assessed with the results of exams.
SC hearing on pleas challenging UGC guidelines for the conduct of exams
Students Demands Cancelation of Final Year Exams
Students feel that the commencement of exams amid coronavirus will risk their health and safety. The petition seeking cancelation of final year exams have been filed in the Supreme Court to emphasize the issues concerning Covid-19 cases. The commencement of final year exams at the time of pandemic will lead to a horrifying situation.
So the students are seeking cancellation of final year exams and demanding UGC to withdrew its guidelines. Therefore, the students demand promotion based on the previous semester’s performances.
The Maharashtra and Delhi government have also expressed their concerns owing to the coronavirus situation in the country.
