Pune: The Bombay High Court has asked the Central government and Disaster Management Authority to respond within eight days and file their say on the issue of conducting final year examinations for university and college students.
Yuva Sena, the youth wing of ruling party Shiv Sena, has also filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court against the University Grants Commission's (UGC) decision to conduct final year examinations by September end. The Yuva Sena has alleged that the central governments Ministry of Human Resources and Development and the UGC are ignoring the physical and mental health, anxiety and safety of students across the country by insisting on conducting the exams.
Before approaching the Supreme Court, the state government had told the Bombay High Court that it cannot allow the conduct of final year examinations in view of the Coronavirus pandemic situation. The state government had also informed the court that it is considering allowing students to commence further studies or work based on degrees issued by the universities.
Yuva Sena President Aaditya Thackeray had also tweeted on this petition. In his tweet, Aaditya has said, "We believe that academic excellence can't be judged by one examination and for academic excellence, we must calculate the aggregate marks of the past semesters. Beyond which, if students still feel the need to appear for an examination, they voluntarily may do so post-Covid. The petition is for each and every student across the country, being forced to appear for an examination in an absolutely bizarre judgement of the situation by UGC and non-flexibility when it comes to human safety."
Former member of the Senate of Savitribai Phule Pune University Dhananjay Kulkarni who also is the petitioner in Bombay High Court against state government's decision, said "The state government has filed its say on the issue. Now the Bombay High Court has asked the Central Government, Disaster Management Authority, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), UGC and Bar Council to file their say within eight days. The court has also accepted two intervention applications and will give its final order on the issue on July 31."
"We are of the view that there are several options to conduct examinations and various bodies including the Delhi High Court have proposed alternatives for assessing the performance of students. Students should not be promoted without undertaking exams," Kulkarni said.
