Varsity replies to UGC reveal exam doubts -Over 20 per cent of institutions not yet on the same page with the commission

Basant Kumar Mohanty   |   TT   | New Delhi   |   19.07.20  : As many as 195 universities are undecided about holding final-semester exams as directed by the University Grants Commission, suggesting over 20 per cent of institutions are not yet on the same page with the higher education regulator.

Another 163 universities are yet to convey their decision, the UGC has said.

The commission has twice issued guidelines — on April 29 and July 6 — urging all the universities to hold online or offline exams before awarding degrees.

But the governments of Bengal, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Maharashtra and Delhi have opposed exams at universities under their administrative control, citing the rising Covid-19 cases and many students’ lack of access to gadgets or quality Internet connectivity.

The commission, which wants the exams by September, has sought status reports from each of the 918 universities concerned. The country has 945 universities but 27 of them were started last year and their students have not reached their final semester.

In a media release on Saturday, UGC secretary Rajnish Jain said that 755 universities had responded, of which “560 universities have either conducted the examination or are planning to conduct (it)”.

He said that 194 varsities had already conducted the exams while 366 were planning to. The remaining 195 universities are undecided.

A professor from Osmania University suggested that a substantial proportion of the undecided would be state-run public universities, which tend to have large numbers of affiliated colleges. For example, Osmania University has more than 720 affiliated colleges and 3.2 lakh students.

“State public universities will have to hold exams across a large number of affiliated colleges if they have to follow the UGC order. The UGC should have clarified how many state-run public universities have supported its stand,” the professor said.

The UGC did not respond to the query how many state government universities had agreed to hold exams.

Aditya N. Mishra, a Delhi University teacher, said the real question was: “Will the students be able to take the exams with a stable mind in September?”

He expressed doubts about the UGC data, saying it must reveal the names of the universities that had responded and the content of their letters.

Academics suspect that the Centre wants to foist exams on the students because universities are likely to hold them online amid the epidemic, paving the way for a permanent switch to online exams that will save costs.

“The UGC is imposing exams under government instruction; it’s unconcerned about the students. It’s trying to prove that the universities are comfortable holding exams,” Mishra said.

“Even if five per cent of the students cannot appear in the exams for lack of infrastructure or the Covid-19 situation, the exams should not be held.”

Mishra said the universities could well hold the exams after the epidemic situation improved and the students returned to the campuses.

Many teachers believe that the final-semester students should be awarded or denied degrees on the basis of their performances in the previous exam.

A private study by a former vice-chancellor of a university in Maharashtra has found that students’ performances in their last semester exam are similar to those in the preceding semester exam.