SC Decision on UGC Guidelines LIVE Updates: The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) July 6 circular, directing varsities to conduct final year exams by September 30. The UGC circular had mandated universities to conduct the final term exams in all affiliated universities by the end of September amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The apex court said states must hold exams by September 30 to promote students, and if any states feel they can’t conduct exams, they must approach the UGC with their concerns.
Last week, the state governments of Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal and Odisha had urged the top court to direct the UGC to defer the final year examinations as the lives of lakhs of university students could be jeopardised due to the pandemic.
The bench had said it will also decide whether the states will have power under the Disaster Management Act to postpone the final examination till the COVID-19 situation normalises. The hearing was concluded on August 18.
Here are top points on the Supreme Court’s Verdict on UGC Final Year Exams:
— The bench was adjudicating a clutch of petitions against the UGC’s July 6 directive to the universities for holding the final year/semester exams by September 30.
‘Internal Assessments Won’t Suffice’, Says SC | It also maintained that states and universities will have to hold exams to promote students and confer degrees, and that internal assessments will not suffice the requirements of the UGC.
— A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan said that there was no infirmity in the July 6 circular that asked universities across the country to complete final year exams by the said deadline.
SC Upholds UGC Decision to Hold Exams by September | The Supreme Court on Friday affirmed the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) decision to have final year exams conducted by September 30.
— One of the 31 petitioners, who has tested positive for coronavirus, had sought for directions to the UGC to adopt the CBSE model and conduct an examination at a later date for the students who are not satisfied with the marks awarded on the basis of the assessment.
Petitioners Seek Cancellation of Exams | The students, in their petition, said the examinations should be cancelled and results of such students should either be calculated on the basis of their internal assessment or past performance.
— The UGC’s July 6 circular was challenged by as many as 31 students from different universities across India who approached the Supreme Court to reject the guidelines mandating all universities in the country to wrap up the final term examinations before September 30.
— States have argued that the UGC exam guidelines interfere with their rights as health-related decisions lay within the powers of the state governments.
‘Responses Received from 818 Varsities’ | Out of the 818 universities, 603 have either conducted the examination or are planning to conduct. While 209 others have already conducted examination (on-line/off-line), 394 are planning to conduct examination (on-line/off-line/blended mode) in August or September.
States Claim UGC Guidelines Finalised Without Consulting Them | The state governments of Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal and Odisha had last week urged the top court to direct the UGC to defer the final year examinations as the lives of lakhs of university students may be jeopardised due to the pandemic. The states said they were not consulted before finalising the UGC guidelines.
Hearing Concluded Last Week | On August 18, the Supreme Court concluded the hearing and reserved its order.
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