The education ministry has declared that all centrally-funded institutions, including central universities, Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), National Institutes of Technology (NIT) as well as others to postpone all offline exams scheduled in May. Higher Education secretary Amit Khare said the decision on examinations will be reviewed again in the first week of June 2021.
The ministry, however, allowed institutes to continue with online examinations. The decision comes amidst an alarming increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the country.
The education ministry said, “The institutions have been further advised to ensure that if anyone in the institution needs any assistance it should be provided immediate possible help so that he/she comes out of the distress at the earliest. All Institutions have to encourage eligible persons to go for vaccination and ensure that everyone follows COVID -19 appropriate behavior to remain safe.”
The Delhi University recently postponed final-year undergraduate and postgraduate exams till June 1. Students of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Uttar Pradesh, urged the Vice-Chancellor to cancel final-year exams and announce results on the basis of internal assessments and assignments.
Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Association (JNUSU) in April wrote to the University Grants Commission (UGC), urging it to suspend exams in view of COVID-19. “We, therefore, request that you issue a directive for universities across the country to suspend all examinations, submissions, presentations, and other evaluation activities happening at the moment taking into consideration the grave situation the country is undergoing,”.
