Supreme Court upholds the University Grants Commission’s July 6 circular to hold University final year exams.
Court says states must hold exams to promote students. It says states under Disaster management Act can postpone exams in view of pandemic & can consult UGC to fix dates.
Supreme Court says students cannot be promoted without University final year exams. States, which are not inclined to hold final year exams by 30 September, will have to make representation to UGC, says Supreme Court.
A three-judge bench headed by Justices Ashok Bhushan, held that in cases where the State decides to not conduct examination due to the current situation then “we grant them liberty to approach the UGC to seek an extension of the deadline.”
UGC on 6 July had announced that colleges and universities will need to conduct final year and final semester exam by end September. And such exams can be conducted in offline (pen and paper), online or blended (online + offline) mode. The apex education regulator had then said that its decision not to scrap the final semester and final year exams is based in academic prudence and need for maintaining credibility.
Earlier, the court had reserved its judgement on August 18 and had said it will also decide whether the states will have power under the Disaster Management Act to defer final examination till situation normalises.
The University Grant Commission through an affidavit had earlier told the Supreme Court that the decision of Delhi and Maharashtra government of cancelling the final term examination will ‘directly impact the standards of higher education in the country’.
The UGC has filed an affidavit on Delhi and Maharashtra governments’ stand of not conducting the final term University exams said that the UGC has taken the policy decision to conduct final year / terminal semester examinations in the interest of students across the country after duly considering the prevailing situation of a pandemic.
The UGC had earlier said that the July 6 guidelines are based on recommendations of experts and have been made after due deliberation and it is wrong to claim that it will not be possible to conduct the final examinations in terms of the guidelines.
The affidavit was filed in on a batch of pleas challenging UGC’s July 6 circular and seeking cancellation of final term examination in view of COVID-19 situation.
Earlier, Delhi and Maharashtra governments had told the top court that they have cancelled the examination in the states.