After two expert committees submitted their reports last week, the higher education regulator University Grants Commission (UGC) today called an emergency meeting to discuss issues of academic calendar and conduct of examinations as well as fresh admissions, reported news agency PTI. The academic activities in universities and colleges have been put out of gear after the coronavirus outbreak and its subsequent lockdown struck the country.
According to an official from the Commission, the UGC will announce the guidelines soon on conducting examinations and academic activities based on the reports submitted by the expert committees which were formed by the supervision of Human Resource Development Ministry in March.
The news agency reported that the commission officials deliberated on the recommendations made by two panels set up to look into the issues of academic loss and online education in the wake of the lockdown in the country due to the coronavirus pandemic.
One of the committees led by Haryana University Vice-Chancellor RC Kuhad was formed to look into the ways of conducting exams in universities amid the lockdown and work on an alternate academic calendar.
The second committee, to suggest measures to improve online education, was led by Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) VC Nageshwar Rao. Both the panels submitted their reports on Friday last week.
"An emergent meeting was held today through video conferencing. Both the reports, guidelines and implementations plans were discussed at length and some suggestions were given by the commission members. We will soon issue guidelines for universities and colleges," UGC Secretary Rajnish Jain said.
One panel 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, while, 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.
"The reports will be discussed in the UGC Commission meeting and based on the decision of the Commission, UGC will issue Guidelines/Advisories, next week, to the Universities and Colleges regarding the measures to be taken for the current academic session as well as next academic session in the larger interest of the student community," a statement from the Commission had said earlier.
(With PTI Inputs)
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