Maharashtra: "Will Dr Bhushan Patwardhan represent the state's views at the centre", asks Higher Education Minister Uday Samant

Maharashtra: "Will Dr Bhushan Patwardhan represent the state's views at the centre", asks Higher Education Minister Uday Samant

Pune: Higher and Technical Education Minister Uday Samant has targeted University Grants Commission (UGC) Vice-Chairman Dr Bhushan Patwardhan and asked whether he will represent the state governments argument at the centre and convince them that conducting final year examinations is like playing with the lives of students.

"COVID-19 has entered the Rajbhavan and Jalsa - the bungalow of actor Amitabh Bachchan. Has the central government and UGC now realised that conducting final year examinations is risky and playing with the lives of students? Will Dr Bhushan Patwardhan now put forward state governments views," Samant has questioned.

Though the state government has taken a firm stand on the cancellation of final year examinations, the UGC has recently released the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for conducting examinations. After the Union Home Ministry on July 6 gave its approval to conduct these examinations as per the guidelines issued by UGC and Health Ministry. The universities will now have to conduct the exams either online or offline or in blended mode by the end of September, but the state government has repeatedly voiced their opposition to these exams. Dr Patwardhan had reacted to this opposition saying that the UGC guidelines and orders are mandatory for universities and educational institutes.

Samant has taken a stand saying that it won't be possible for students to travel or stay and make food arrangements during the lockdown due to the restrictions imposed by the local administrations. Also if the students come together at the exam centres in large numbers, then the risk of spread of coronavirus increases. Hence the students should be promoted based on the average of marks obtained by them in the previous semesters.

Samant took to Twitter, the micro-blogging platform to target Dr Patwardhan. In his tweet, Samant says, "Corona has entered Rajbhavan... Amitabhji has also caught the infection... The coronavirus has entered such protected and safe places... Will the Union Ministry of Human Resources and UGC now realise that conducting exams is like playing with the lives of students... Will Dr Patwardhan now put forth our views at the centre?"
 

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