Déjà vu much? For the second time in a row, only final year students will have to write exams, says UGC

For the second time in a row, only the final year college students in India will have to write examinations, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, said the latest guidelines from the University Grants Commission (UGC). The UGC released its guidelines and the academic calendar for admissions to all universities and colleges on June 17.

The timetable says that all Higher Education Institutions (HEI) in the country must complete their final year exams before September 1. These examinations can be online, offline, or blended. It also allows no scope for internal assessment. "The terminal semester or final-year examinations (2020-2021) will be compulsorily conducted in offline, online or blended mode by no later than August 31, 2021, following the prescribed protocols related to the COVID-19 pandemic," reads the guideline.

At the same time, for the first-year and second-year students, there will be no examinations and will be graded based on internal assessments. "For intermediate semester/year students, the assessment shall be based on internal evaluation and previous semester as suggested in 2020 guidelines," the UGC says. It adds, "The guidelines issued by the UGC on April 29, 2020, and July 6, 2020, highlighting the modes of teaching, the conduct of examinations, importance of physical and social distancing, etc. should be read along with the present guidelines and shall remain mandatory, but the present guidelines shall prevail in the event of any conflict."

In 2020, the UGC had released similar guidelines that had faced a lot of flak from students, online and offline. While many argued that they do not have the gadgets or bandwidth to attend online examinations, others argued that they cannot risk their lives by stepping out of their homes during the pandemic.