HYDERABAD: Paving the way for the conduct of various examinations in the State, a division bench of Telangana High Court on Tuesday refused to interfere with the policy decision of the State government in conducting semester and final year examinations of undergraduate and postgraduate courses through physical mode. Holding examinations through online or offline mode is the policy decision taken by the State government and such a decision cannot be subjected to judicial review, the bench observed.
The bench comprising Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice B Vijaysen Reddy disposed of the PILs filed by NSUI State president B Venkat Narsing Rao, who sought postponement of all the examinations and to promote all the students to next semester/academic year without conducting examinations of undergraduate, postgraduate and other diploma courses in view of Covid-19 pandemic, and another PIL filed by Gareeb Guide Voluntary Organisation seeking to postpone examinations.
When the matter came up for hearing, State Advocate General BS Prasad told the court that the government has taken the policy decision to conduct semester and final year examinations of UG and PG courses through physical mode.
As for autonomous institutions, which included engineering and degree colleges, the commissioner of collegiate education has given permission to them to hold its examinations either online or offline. The students who can’t write the examinations now will be permitted to write the advanced supplementary examinations. Their pass result will be considered on par with those passed in regular examination, he added.
Meanwhile, the counsel appearing for Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad (JNTUH) informed the court about conduct of advanced supplementary exams within two months from the date of declaration of results of regular examinations.
Advocate C Damodar Reddy, appearing for one of the petitioners, urged the court to direct the authorities concerned to conduct supplementary examinations at the earliest to avert loss of academic year.
After hearing the above submissions, the bench disposed of the petitions by directing the government to ensure taking all safety measures in the interest of the students and to follow standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued by the Central government in view of Covid-19 pandemic while conducting examinations. The bench suggested the government to ensure that the advanced supplementary exams are held within a reasonable time, keeping the academic career of the students in view.