Odisha: No cancellation of UG, PG exams, final decision on June 18
BHUBANESWAR: The State government on Saturday made it clear that the under graduate (UG) and post graduate (PG) exams in colleges and universities will not be cancelled.
The announcement was made by Higher Education Minister Arun Sahoo following a meeting with vice chancellors of universities.
However, a final decision on the examinations will be announced after another round of meeting on June 18 as the VCs have sought more time from the government in this regard, he said.
“As per today’s discussions, the pending UG and PG examinations are most likely to be conducted by the universities. In the next seven days, the VCs will hold talks with the principals of their affiliated colleges and seek their feedback. They will also seek feedback of students from both urban and rural areas,” Sahoo said.
The Minister said though many states had decided to scrap the UG and PG examinations last year, the Supreme Court directed them to conduct them and the examinations were held accordingly.
“Despite all the difficulties, colleges and universities are continuing with their online classes and the UG and PG students have been advised to remain prepared for the examinations,” he said while suggesting that the examinations should be conducted in the larger interest of the students.
Rama Devi Women’s University VC Prof Aparajita Chowdhury said that the universities agreed to conduct the tests as the final year examinations are crucial for any UG and PG student to prepare for national-level competitive examinations.
She, however, said the decision cannot be taken immediately as there are many aspects that need to be taken into consideration to conduct examinations in the middle of a pandemic.
“A large section of UG and PG students are from rural areas and we have to see if conducting examinations online will be feasible for them. We have to get their feedback before deciding the mode of the examinations,” Chowdhury said.
VCs in the meeting also said there are many colleges where courses are yet to be completed.
The university will also ask their affiliated colleges to submit a definite timeline by which they can complete the pending courses to decide on the examinations, sources said.