Universities are Free to Hold First and Second Year UG/PG exams, Says Supreme Court

In response to the PIL filed, the Supreme Court on September 3 said that the Universities are free to conduct the first or second-year examinations to promote Undergraduate or Postgraduate students.

A bench headed by Justice R Subhash Reddy, Ashok Bhushan, and MR Shah said that the issue was dealt with by its August 14 judgment where it upheld the UGC guideline of holding final year UG or PG exams mandatorily. 

Also Read: Odisha Govt. Requests UGC to Extend Deadline for UG, PG Exams till October 10

UGC released a guideline on April 27 which read, "For intermediate semester/year students, the Universities may conduct the examinations after making a comprehensive assessment of their level of preparedness, residential status of students, the status of COVID-19 and other factors. In case the situation does not improvise, grading of the students could be a composite of 50% internal evaluation and 50% on the basis of performance in the previous semester."

The PIL was filed by a student Ayush Yesudas, who now claims that the COVID-19 situation is still not normal and holding physical exams will amount to a violation of UGC guidelines.

Also Read UGC Releases Notice Stating Precautions to be taken by Students before Enrolling for Open and Distance Learning Programmes

The court however dismissed the plea stating that the Court cannot monitor the examination of college and holding the examination does not stand against the UGC guideline.

For final semester examinations, the court upheld the UGC guidelines of July 6 and said that students cannot be conferred degrees without taking examinations. In the verdict, the court also stated that UGC cannot mandate the final year exams within September 30 and states can appeal to UGC for an extension of the dates.

Read: Meghalaya Government to Write to UGC to Extend Final-Year Exam Deadline