All the final year students will be promoted based on their performance in previous years or semesters, said the CM.
MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government decided to cancel final year examinations of universities and university affiliates, CM Uddhav Thackeray announced on Sunday. The students will be given an average mark based on their past examination results.
Earlier, Thackeray chaired a meeting with the vice-chancellors of universities to discuss final-year students. In his state address on Sunday evening, Thackeray said that they want to give relief to over eight lakh students of final year graduations in Maharashtra by canceling their exams and providing average marks by calculating the past marks of previous semesters.
“Today, we are not in a position to conduct the exams, and in the future, when it will happen, we are not sure. The new academic year is starting, so we do not have students miss their further educations and career opportunities. Those students are not happy with the mark of last semester; they can reply to upgrade their mark once the situation is normal,” the chief minister said.
Maharashtra government has already canceled the first and second-year exams. The University Grant Commission had asked to conduct the exam in July. However, the situation in Maharashtra, particularly in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur belt is critical. All these regions fall under the red zone; ergo conducting exams doesn’t seem viable.
Thackeray said that they are committed to restarting the new academic year that will be either virtual or actual by following the social distancing norms. Earlier, the Maharashtra higher and technical education minister Uday Samant had written UGC to cancel the final year exams and award the average marks based on previous semesters results. Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had taken the objection and even wrote to chief minister Thackeray by complaining against the minister for his stand of canceling exams.
“Final-year results will be announced based on aggregate marks scored by the student in the past semesters. Students who feel they can perform better can do so by appearing for the exams that will be held in the winter exam session,” said Thackeray, after conducting a meeting on Saturday with VCs of all the universities in the state.
“Students will apply for further education programs in India and abroad. If aggregate marks are taken, candidates may lose out on getting entry into prestigious institutes. Some form of testing is necessary,” said the economics department head at a Mumbai-based college.
However, while addressing the state, he said-
“I held a meeting of Vice-Chancellors yesterday regarding final year college exams. They unanimously said that the present circumstances do not allow for examinations to be held immediately as it is risky for lakhs of students to come together for exams”.
“Exams have not been canceled across the country. Hence, students from Maharashtra may lose out compared to someone from maybe Bengal or Tamil Nadu, who will be able to present better scores for the final term,” he added.
He also said UGC guidelines do not allow granting of degrees without conducting examinations. Hence, the VC said it would be tough to allow this scenario by the central government and its allied bodies.
As far as implementation is concerned, the performance of a candidate in the previous semester of the academic year has to be followed. It is not clear whether the final grade will be a simple average of past grades or whether some other formula will be used.
Further, clarification is awaited for programs mandatorily requiring separate marks for field projects.
Students who may have scored poorly due to absence or illness in the previous semester will lose out. He/she must be allowed to appear at least for an oral test. However, the use of mobile, said the placements in-charge and deputy director of a Pune-based institute.
Though a few institutes across India have started conducting examinations online, students without access to laptops and computers cannot access these systems.
What did the Maharashtra CM say?
During his public address on May 31, Thackeray said there is uncertainty around when examinations can be held in the state.
The state has 67,655 cases of COVID-19, with 2,286 deaths so far.
“Can examinations be held in June? No. Can they be held in July or August? I cannot say. Hence, students and their future should not suffer because of this,” he added.
“If a student has been given say 65 percent as aggregate, how will they even apply for admissions to say a course where 75 percent is the cut-off. Even if he/she can improve their marks to 80-85 percent by September/October, how will this be useful? By then, admissions would have closed,” said the director of a Chennai-based technical institute.
So, we have decided that students will get aggregate marks based on their performance in the previous semesters for that academic year. This is because there is no clarity on when the exams can be held. The future of students should not be kept hanging because of this.
If a student wants to appear for the final exams to improve their previous performance, they can be given an opportunity in September, October, or November, based on how the situation evolves.
Thackeray said there was a meeting held with Vice-Chancellors (VCs) on May 30 regarding final year college exams.
“They (VCs) unanimously said the present circumstances do not allow for examinations to be held immediately as it is risky for lakhs of students to come together for exams,” he added.
It is estimated that 500,000 students across Maharashtra will benefit because of this announcement. Once the lockdown completely lifts, students who have a grievance with the ‘aggregate marking system’ will voluntarily appear for examinations at a later date.
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