UGC issues revised guidelines, says final exams to be conduct before September end; gets MHA’s nod

The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has said that the terminal semesters/final year examinations in the universities will be held by the end of September.The end semester examinations were postponed due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country.The revised guidelines on examinations and academic calendar for Universities in view of COVID-19 pandemic were shared by Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank on Twitter.“The terminal semester will be conducted by the universities by the end of September, 2020 in offline (pen and paper) or online or blended (online + offline) mode," UGC said in its letter.According to a report by Livemint, the decision came after the Union Ministry of Home Affairs said it has sent a letter to the Union higher education Secretary allowing universities and institutions to conduct examinations.As per the new guidelines, the final university exams can be held online and offline. In case a student cannot appear for the exams in September, provisions will be made so that he/she can take the exams later.A report by NDTV mentions that the end-of-term examinations in the colleges and education institutions have been pending since March due to the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown imposed by the government to contain the spread of virus.The exams will be conducted maintaining all the safety measures.As per a report by DNA, states including Haryana, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Madhya Pradesh had earlier cancelled all higher education exams and instead announced that students will be promoted on the basis of their prior performances in exams.According to a report by The Indian Express, the UGC held a meeting on Monday to revisit its indicative alternate calendar at the behest of the HRD Ministry.On 24 June, the government had asked the UGC to reconsider its guidelines on examinations and academic calendar for the universities in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown.The UGC constituted an Expert Committee to deliberate as well as make recommendations related to the issues of examinations and academic calendar. The first guidelines were issued on 4 April.