As the novel Coronavirus pandemic made its presence felt in the country the government decided to close down almost every sector of activity, including educational institutions like schools and colleges to control the spread of the virus for better management of the infected. When they were shut down in March, exams of the lower levels of education were partially complete, while at the higher levels the examinations were yet to commence. By the time the restrictions on economic activity were completely lifted in July 2020, the spread showed an alarming upward trend and educational institutions remained shut. Exams for the lower levels were completed in July but not those of the higher levels – mainly university exams and parents, students, universities, and the UGC were seized of the issue from different perspectives.
With Colleges closed for 5 months and the number of cases surging, the UGC issued a circular on 6 July, in which all universities in the country were asked to wrap up the final term examinations before 30 September.
This led the students. After the decision was announced, #cancelfinalyearexams and #studentlivesmatter were two of the trending hashtags. Thousands of students took to social media to protest UGC’s decision, demanding the scrapping of final year exams. Multiple teachers’ and students’ associations believe the UGC decision to be divisive and discriminatory. They opined that it has further sharpened the existing digital divide in the country.
As many as 31 students from different universities across India approached the apex court to oppose the UGC circular dated 6 July, in which all universities in the country have been asked to wrap up the final term examinations before 30 September. The students, in their petition, said the examinations should be canceled and the results of such students should be calculated on the basis of their internal assessment or past performance. The petition filed by students from 13 states and one union territory requested that mark sheets of students should be issued before July 31. One of the students, among the 31 petitioners, has tested positive for coronavirus and sought 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. The plea said that planned examinations be canceled in the interest of justice for the students as the number of virus cases is surging across the country. Another petition on the issue, filed in the apex court by final year law student Yash Dubey, also sought cancellation of UGC mandated final year exams. Shiv Sena leader Aditya Thackeray has also moved the apex court on behalf of Yuva Sena, the youth wing of Shiv Sena, against the mandated final year exams amid a spurt in Covid-19 cases.
A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan comprising R Subhash Reddy and BR Gavai directed Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that UGC should file a reply. A final decision is yet to be announced.
Justifying the issue of the circular, the UGC said, that universities were approached to get the status of the examinations, and responses were received from 818 universities (121 deemed universities, 291 private universities, 51 central universities, and 355 state universities). 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. The education regulator of the country has also said that for 35 universities, of which 27 are private, seven state-run, and one deemed university, the first batch is yet to become eligible for the final exams.
The UGC told the Supreme Court that it is necessary to conduct the final year exams as it is intended “to protect the academic future of students” across the country.
Students say that “if the universities want to conduct the exam let them conducts the exam as early as possible by taking all the safety measures instead of any further delay. Because everyone needs their final year degree certificate for their further studies and jobs.”
But the bigger question is whether the students remember the concepts and portions covered by the lectures..?. if yes how much..?.
First, it’s been 5 months since the colleges are closed and these 5 months is equal to one semester. Second, not all have the same learning ability. And 15 days for all may not be enough for some who are on the lower side of the learning curve. Third, although colleges did conduct online classes during the lockdown they could not reach out to those students who had traveled back to their native places and where there was no access to the internet or for that matter equipment to pursue those classes. Fourthly the students will now be forced to return to the city to write their exams which would be a risk given the increasing spread of the virus. Norms for safety during the exams are yet to be announced.
Most of the students say “they don’t remember anything; it’s been 5 months and it’s impossible to study everything in 15 days. Why cant the university consider our previous 5 semester aggregate marks and promote us in our final semester as the university did for the first year and second year?” There are insecurities prevailing among students with respect to health and they are even conscious of the health of their family. As COVID-19 cases are surging at a rapid pace in the country they are anxious about its spread due to the movement of students from various places across the country. They also say “it will also create an unwanted panic and frustration among the students in dealing with their own friends”. They say “it’s easy for the UGC to lay down the notification but it’s the students who have to face those risks”.
A student’s viewpoint is that a one-semester exam cannot decide the student’s potential or his capacity. “If the UGC is really interested in the student’s future then they should consider previous 5-semester marks and take the average from that. If not, they should conduct online examinations rather than offline because online exams will be safer. The COVID-19 cases are increasing day by day and parents are afraid to send their children to the hostel or to the exam center. Life is greater than the exams students are really worried about moving back to the city or indeed sitting in a closed exam hall.”
Indeed all the students I spoke to in pursuance of this article categorise this move as a ‘risky’.
