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The Supreme Court Friday refused to pass any interim order on a batch of petitions looking for cancellation of final year/semester examinations in September amid the COVID-19 pandemic and requested the Centre to clear the stand of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on the difficulty.
The UGC instructed the highest courtroom that no one ought to stay beneath the impression that for the reason that Supreme Court is analyzing this situation, the final year /semester examination will probably be stayed. A bench head by Justice Ashok Bhushan, which carried out the listening to via video conferencing, stated that it isn’t passing any orders on the difficulty and posted the issues for additional listening to on August 10.
The bench, additionally comprising Justices R Subhash Reddy and M R Shah, was knowledgeable by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, showing for the Centre and the UGC, that he would apprise the courtroom about MHA’s stand on the difficulty.
Mehta stated they’re solely involved with final year exams and out of over 800 universities within the nation, 209 have accomplished the examinations.
He stated that round 390 universities are within the course of of conducting the examinations.
“Let nobody remain under the impression that since this court is examining this, it will be stayed. Let students continue with their studies,” Mehta stated.
To this, the bench stated, “We are not passing any such order.” The bench additionally requested counsel for Maharashtra to place earlier than it the June 19 order of the state catastrophe administration committee handed on this regard.
“Let the decision (of state disaster management committee of Maharashtra) be brought on record,” the bench stated.
The high courtroom stated all of the affidavits be filed by August 7.
At the fag finish of the listening to, advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava, showing for some of the petitioners, raised the difficulty of plight of college students within the flood affected areas of Assam and Bihar.
“This is not a case for interim order today,” the bench stated. “On August 10, we will hear it”.
On Thursday, the UGC justified its determination directing all universities and establishments to maintain final year/semester examinations in September saying it was performed to defend the educational future of college students throughout the nation.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) had filed a 50-page affidavit on a batch of petitions, together with the one filed by Shiv Sena’s youth wing ‘Yuva Sena’, which have challenged its pointers issued on July 6 for holding the exams in September amidst the persisting coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
It stated that in June this year, contemplating the evolving state of affairs of the COVID-19 pandemic, it requested the skilled committee to revisit the April 29 pointers, by which it had requested the Universities and Institutions to maintain final year examinations in July 2020. The skilled committee submitted a report recommending that terminal semester/final year examinations ought to be carried out by universities/ establishments by the tip of September, 2020 in offline (pen & paper)/ on-line/ blended (on-line + offline) mode, the UGC stated. It added that this report of the skilled committee was deliberated and accepted by the UGC in its emergent assembly held on July 6, for the reason that conduct of the final year/terminal examination is a time-sensitive situation. The UGC stated it has issued such pointers to “protect the academic future of students across the country which will be irreparably damaged if their final year/terminal semester examinations are not held, while also keeping in mind their health and safety”. Assailing the selections of some states like Maharashtra and Delhi of cancelling the final year examinations, the fee stated that such choices straight have an effect on the requirements of increased training and will probably be an encroachment on the legislative area of coordinating and figuring out the requirements of increased training that’s completely reserved for Parliament beneath Schedule VII of the Constitution. “Therefore, the decisions of certain State Governments (Maharashtra and Delhi) to either cancel the terminal semester/final year examinations for UG/PG students, and/or to graduate such students and confer degrees without appearing for the final year/terminal semester examinations is plainly contrary to the UGC’s guidelines,” it stated. The UGC justified the revised pointers issued on July 6 and stated that it adequately takes into consideration the evolving state of affairs of the COVID-19 pandemic as a result of it present ample time until the tip of September 2020 to conduct the final year/terminal semester examinations after following the prescribed protocols and procedures relating to COVID-19.
“It gives sufficient flexibility to universities/ institutions to conduct such examinations online, offline (pen and paper) or blended (online + offline) mode and provide for an examination through special chance for students who “for whatsoever the reason(s) may be” are unable to seem for the examination carried out by a college/establishment by finish of September, 2020”, the UGC stated. It stated that the Universities/Institutions might conduct such particular examinations as and when possible in order that the scholars involved are usually not put to any inconvenience or drawback. On July 27, the highest courtroom had requested the UGC to file a consolidated reply to the batch of petitions difficult its revised pointers to conduct final year examinations by September 30 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
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