Bengal College Exams In October, Says Mamata Banerjee. Criticises UGC

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today said since the Supreme Court has upheld the University Grants Commission (UGC) decision that final exams must be held for students to graduate, the West Bengal government would try to hold the exams in October, before the Durga Puja begins on October 22.

But at a virtual rally to mark the foundation of the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP), she made no secret of her unhappiness with the UGC.

"I won't blame the court. But I want to ask the centre's UGC, why are you putting students in trouble? In America, they opened schools, students went and one lakh students got coronavirus infection," Ms Banerjee said.

The Supreme Court order means lakhs of students will now have to brave the pandemic and take the exams.

That apart, it has also plunged into uncertainty thousands of students of some Bengal universities who have already been given their graduation certificates based on internal assessments. They don't know what to do now with their degrees.

Several universities in some other states, too, have also reportedly graduated their students on internal assessments.

A senior faculty member at a university in Kolkata said no final exams had been held at the IITs and NIITs, and students had been internally assessed. Many have graduated and have got jobs and joined office, the faculty member said, asking not to be identified.

Others pointed out that IITs and NIITs are not governed by the UGC, but by the AICTE. The latter had not insisted on exams while the UGC had. So what would happen to engineering students at, for example, Jadavpur University which has engineering, arts and science departments is uncertain.

Students who have graduated are confused. They are asking if their degrees are worth the paper they are written on or will they have to simply throw them away and take exams afresh.