CM bats for a national policy

Assures efforts to avoid a second wave of Covid in State

Ahead of hearing in the Supreme Court on August 14 on the Yuva Sena petition challenging the University Grants Commission’s revised guidelines on conducting final year exams, the Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday made a fresh appeal to PM Narendra Modi to chalk out a national level policy in this regard. Amidst present coronavirus pandemic, Thackeray at the video conference of CMs chaired by PM Modi reiterated that exams should not be conducted for non-professional courses and students be passed on aggregate marks.

‘’Students are the future of the country and their lives should not be endangered, so they should not take the final year exams of non-professional courses,’’ said Thackeray. His fresh appeal comes close on the heels of the state government’s affidavit in the apex court reiterating its decision to cancel the final year examinations. The government has submitted that the Disaster Management Authority chaired by Thackeray has taken decision twice based on the recommendations by the Vice-Chancellors of the 13 non-agricultural universities citing the present Covid-19 pandemic.

Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray and Maharashtra Minister of Higher and Technical Education Uday Samant have said that UGC should not make the final year examinations an ego issue. Samant has cited that about 10 states have already decided not to hold examinations by September end as envisaged by the UGC.

Further, Thackeray today also urged PM Modi to take a decision on the final year examination of medical courses and the students need to take the exams orally as per their wish.

“Students are the future of the country and their lives should not be endangered, so they should not take the final year exams of non-professional courses.” — Uddhav Thackeray, Maharashtra Chief Minister