NEW DELHI: With many states in the country deciding against holding university examinations in light of the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on traditional classroom education, Congress on Tuesday condemned the UGC’s call to hold university exams at the end of September 2020 and demanded that PM Modi intervene to have the exams cancelled.
Congress Lok Sabha MP and party whip Manickam Tagore wrote to PM Modi and said, “I urge to review the decision of conducting University exams by Sep 2020 and cancel the decision since it would undervalue the merit of students and would hamper their future,” he said.
Tagore has also recommended that students’ previous scores be considered in their evaluation. He has also argued that the prolonged lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic has thrown the normal academics out of gear, apart from posing problems related to livelihoods, economics and employment among people.
Citing the instances of states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Haryana, where varsity examinations have been put in abeyance, and many other states that are planning to follow suit, Tagore, in his letter said that any mandatory orders asking students to assemble in large numbers can lead to a “cluster of disaster” and a sharp increase in coronavirus cases. “Forcing students” to appear for examinations when “panic” prevails, Tagore has said, will have a negative impact on their results. The Congress MP also demanded that the UGC should make public the survey, or the recommendations of the expert group, who advised the UGC to announce university examinations despite the protracted disruption in classroom learning.
On July 6, the Home ministry, in its letter to the Higher Education secretary, allowed colleges and universities to hold final year examinations for students amid the coronavirus pandemic, adding that the exams must be “compulsorily conducted”. The announcement came amid a buzz that the UGC was considering advising colleges and universities to cancel final year examinations and semester examinations in light of the pandemic and the massive disruption it has caused.
“Great organisations don’t see people as a commodity to be managed to help grow their money, they think of money as a commodity to be managed to help grow their people”
Congress Lok Sabha MP and party whip Manickam Tagore wrote to PM Modi and said, “I urge to review the decision of conducting University exams by Sep 2020 and cancel the decision since it would undervalue the merit of students and would hamper their future,” he said.
Tagore has also recommended that students’ previous scores be considered in their evaluation. He has also argued that the prolonged lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic has thrown the normal academics out of gear, apart from posing problems related to livelihoods, economics and employment among people.
Citing the instances of states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Haryana, where varsity examinations have been put in abeyance, and many other states that are planning to follow suit, Tagore, in his letter said that any mandatory orders asking students to assemble in large numbers can lead to a “cluster of disaster” and a sharp increase in coronavirus cases. “Forcing students” to appear for examinations when “panic” prevails, Tagore has said, will have a negative impact on their results. The Congress MP also demanded that the UGC should make public the survey, or the recommendations of the expert group, who advised the UGC to announce university examinations despite the protracted disruption in classroom learning.
On July 6, the Home ministry, in its letter to the Higher Education secretary, allowed colleges and universities to hold final year examinations for students amid the coronavirus pandemic, adding that the exams must be “compulsorily conducted”. The announcement came amid a buzz that the UGC was considering advising colleges and universities to cancel final year examinations and semester examinations in light of the pandemic and the massive disruption it has caused.
“Great organisations don’t see people as a commodity to be managed to help grow their money, they think of money as a commodity to be managed to help grow their people”
