The Maharashtra government’s decision to postpone final year examinations or graduate students and confer degrees without appearing for exams is at odds with the University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines, the Bombay High Court was informed on Friday.
Dr. Nikhil Kumar, education officer, UGC, filed an affidavit before a Division Bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Madhav Jamdar.
The affidavit read, “The decision of the State of Maharashtra through government resolution June 19 to hold terminal semester/final year examinations for UG/PG students of traditional and professional courses (subject to the decision of the apex regulatory body concerned), at a later date (which may be even beyond September, 2020), or to graduate such students and confer on them degrees without appearing for the final year/terminal semester examinations is contrary to UGC’s guidelines.”
The 71-page affidavit said, “Such a decision will also be an encroachment on the legislative field of co-ordinating and determining the standards of higher education, which is exclusively reserved for Parliament. The State’s decision to defer the final year/terminal semester examinations or to graduate students without holding exams is a matter directly affecting the standards of higher education in the country.”
It also added, “UGC has issued the revised guidelines on examination and academic calendar for the universities in view of COVID-19 pandemic’ on July 6, whereby the Commission has stipulated the mode of terminal semester/final year examinations (2019-2020) as well as the provision of examination through special chance.”
The court was hearing a petition filed by six final year law students — residing at Kolkata, Delhi, Latur, Ahmednagar, Pune and Tamil Nadu — through advocate Yashodeep Deshmukh.
They are challenging the guidelines passed by the UGC and the circulars by the Bar Council of India (BCI) regarding conduct of final year/semester exams in law universities and colleges and seeks necessary directions for the extension of benefits of the government resolution dated June 19 for professional courses students of final year in Maharashtra.
The petitioners urged the court to quash and set aside the UGC’s revised guidelines regarding the compulsory conduct of examinations of final year students. They also sought quashing of the BCI’s circular regarding the conduct of examinations of final year law students.
The court has posted the matter for hearing on July 31.
