UGC final year exam: SC says students cannot be promoted without exams, but September 30 deadline not mandatory

The Supreme Court has said that final year university exams will be conducted as per the rules of University Grants Commission. SC has also said that states cannot promote students without holding exams.

A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan pronounced the judgement on the student plea against UGC. This means that all final year university exams will have to be conducted.

However, the apex court said that of any state government or union territory cannot conduct exams by the September 30 UGC deadline, then they can individually approach the UGC to postpone it.

“State disaster management authority (SDMA) can postpone exams overriding UGC guidelines. However, SDMA cannot direct institutes to pass students based on previous performance,” said the SC.

It added that states/UTs cannot pass students without exams as directed by UGC but have the right to approach the body seeking a postponement of the deadline.

What”s UGC Thinks ?

On July 20, more than a dozen students had moved the apex court against this UGC decision. The petitioners want that the final year candidates be assessed based on the performance in the previous semesters.

On July 7, UGC said the end-term examination for all final year UGC students would have to be mandatorily held by the end of September 2020 in offline (pen & paper), online or blended mode. This was opposed by several state governments like that of Maharashtra, West Bengal as also by final-year university students.

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