HYDERABAD: Due to the rising number of Covid-19 cases, college and university students from Telangana demanded that the State government should cancel final-year exams for the current academic year. The students raised their concerns after the University Grants Commission (UGC) recently decided to mandate the conduction of final-year examinations, despite the rising number of Covid-19 cases.
Telangana State Council of Higher Education (TSCHE) is also planning to conduct exams at designated centres for final-year undergraduate and postgraduate students from August. Several students from the state have raised the issue of cancellation of examinations by tweeting with the hashtag ‘#StudentsLivesMatter’ on Twitter. The hashtag has been trending ever since UGC announced the mandate for conduction of exams.
Students say writing such exams, and even commuting to the exam centres could lead to them catching the infection. “If exams are conducted at centres, the probability that a student may get contracted with the virus is high, even if colleges and universities take precautions. Commute to the exam hall can also be very risky, as many students would travel to the hall on the exam date,” said Preethi (name changed), a student from a junior college in the city.
“The problem would get worse as each student, if infected, will have to go back home, which will pose a threat to others, some of whom could be more vulnerable. In addition, as not all students have their own vehicles, they will have to resort to public transport, which is not safe at this point,” she added.