Final year exams must be held, says Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of India has ruled that final year college examinations must be held this year but states can ask for the dates to be deferred beyond 30 September because of the coronavirus crisis. The court said that states cannot promote students without final year examinations.

Several petitions, including one by the Yuva Sena of Aaditya Thackeray, had called for the exams to be cancelled because of Covid-19. The petitions referred to difficulties faced by students at a time when all educational institutions were closed due to the crisis. They pleaded that students have completed five semesters and should be assessed on the basis of the Cumulative Grade Point Average or CGPA.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) had ordered examinations to be conducted by 30 September.It said this is a must to “protect the academic future of students” and that degrees cannot be given without examinations.

“If states feel they cannot conduct exams by September 20, they can approach UGC for relief,” said the judges.

In August, the UGC had questioned the decisions of Delhi and Maharashtra to cancel final year exams. Such decisions, said UGC “directly affect the standards of higher education and will be an encroachment on the legislative field of coordinating and determining the standards of higher education that is exclusively reserved for parliament under the constitution”.