As the higher education regulator UGC is expected to announce the guidelines regarding the academic calendar and modus operandi for the annual university examinations this week, Congress-affiliated student organisation NSUI demanded promotion of all students without exams. The organisation has also demanded to end the uncertainty over the academic activities as there is "high anxiety among students because of the prospect of wasting a year due to delayed academic calendar as well as the possibility of online exams without proper completion of course work".
"Final year students need to be promoted on the basis of past performance with additional 10% marks since most students improve performance in the final year," an NSUI office bearer said.
The organisation said that online exams are likely to be discriminatory given the highly uneven access to infrastructure and connectivity and it is also inadvisable to conduct exams without completion of course work in physical class.
"There are some very important issues: first, that online classes or exams are discriminatory against students from marginalised socioeconomic backgrounds. Hence, NSUI is against both online exams and exams based on online classes," she said.
"Second, it is important to end the uncertainty around the academic year. Hence NSUI is demanding promotion of students in non-final year and that remaining course work is completed through extra classes once universities resume physical classes," she added.
Recently, a panel appointed by the University Grants Commission (UGC) has recommended that the academic session in universities and higher educational institutions can be started from September instead of July in view of the COVID-19 situation in the country.
Meanwhile, another panel has suggested that universities should conduct online exams if they have the infrastructure and means or wait for the lockdown to get over and then decide a date for pen-and-paper examinations.
According to Human Resource Development Ministry officials, the two reports will now be studied and official guidelines in this regard are expected to be notified by this week, reported news agency PTI.
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