Higher Education Minister Dr Arun Sahoo wrote Union Human Resources Minister Sri Nishank
Revised Guideline is a complete contradiction of the previous guideline
HE Minister wrote HRD minister to reconsider
Bhubaneswar( Kalinga Voice): In the current Corona pandemic situation, it is not possible to conduct classroom exams or online exams for about 200,000 students studying in the state’s postgraduate and undergraduate courses. Keeping in view the Moment of crisis, it is next to impossible to adhere to the revised guideline issued by UGC for conducting examination by 30th September in the state. In this context, the Higher Education Minister Dr. Arun Kumar Sahoo has written a letter to Union HRD Minister Sri Ramesh Pokhariaal Nisank to reconsider the revised guideline issued by UGC and the Office Memorandum issued by HRD Ministry. Dr. Sahoo urged the union minister to reconsider the revised guideline and allow the state government for the implementation of the pre-determined decision taken by the State Government as per the previous guideline of the UGC.
In the letter written to the Union Minister state HE Minister Dr. Sahoo said that the University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued an amended guideline and the Ministry of Human Resource Development has issued an Office Memorandum dated 06.07.2010. has made mandatory to complete the semester examination of postgraduate and undergraduate courses by 30.09.2020. The revised guidelines issued by the UGC are already in conflict with the guidelines issued(by UGC) on 29.04.2020, Minister Dr. Sahoo said in the letter.
In the previous guidelines, UGC had advised the state government to take a review of the COVID-19 situation and take its own decision on the university exams. Accordingly, the state government met with all the Vive-Chancellors of the state and decided to cancel the last year’s semester exams of postgraduates and undergraduates in the greater interest and looking at the safety of the students. All universities and autonomous colleges were instructed to publish their final year results based on marks obtained in the students’ pre-semester exams, However in the revised guideline issued by UGC is now being mentioned to complete the classroom exams or online exams by 30th September, which is a complete contradiction of the previous decision or guideline. In the current Corona pandemic situation, it is not possible to conduct classroom exams or online exams for about 200,000 students studying in the PG and UG courses, says Dr Sahoo in his letter.
Therefore, the Minister of Higher Education Dr. Sahoo has requested the Union Minister for HRD Sri Nishnk to reconsider the decision in the present context.
