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UGC to mull report by VCs on academic calendar in meet next week
UGC chairman D P Singh told HT that “both reports have been received and will be taken to the commission. Whatever decision the commission takes will be conveyed to the universities”.
Do the universities across the country have the capacity to hold online exams and move on to the next session or is it better to have the next academic year commence and hold exams later - these are among questions that higher education regulator University Grants Commission (UGC) will discuss in a crucial meeting next week.
Two key committees, one headed by Central University of Haryana Vice Chancellor R C Kuhad on the new academic calendar and another on promoting online education headed by IGNOU Vice Chancellor Nageshwar Rao submitted their reports on crucial aspects related to higher education in the time of the pandemic on Friday.
“The Kuhad committee has examined the option of holding online exams but keeping the diversity of the country in mind a one size fits all approach cannot be adopted. Not every university has the capacity to hold online exams. There may students who may be at a disadvantage also if there is an online exam. An assessment of the capacity to conduct online exams has to be carried out. So we are going to deliberate on all these aspects and then recommend the future course of action to varsities next week,” said a senior official who wished not to be identified.
A suggestion that has repeatedly been discussed is to promote students, especially who are not in the final year, to the next class and begin online lectures.
UGC chairman D P Singh told HT that “both reports have been received and will be taken to the commission. Whatever decision the commission takes will be conveyed to the universities”.
Significantly, there is a chance that the UGC may hold a video conference meeting, which would be a first in its history, to hold this discussion. However, the commission can also choose the option to come to a discussion through e-circulation, said an official.
A committee member said that the country being diverse and the same being the case for educational institutions, the ultimate call may well be left to the institution but a roadmap definitely can be suggested.
“One way is that the next academic session commences while the exams and results declared later. Another option can be to prepone the summer vacations. The National Testing Agency (NTA) could also be involved. However, individual circumstances of universities have to be factored in also,” said a senior UGC official.
The official confirmed that various options to promote students were discussed, especially as the campuses are unlikely to open soon, but refused to divulge details of the reports of the committees.
Apart from Kuhad, the other VCs who prepared the report on the academic calendar included the Vice Chancellor of Panjab University Raj Kumar, the Vice Chancellor of Banasthali Vidyapeeth Aditya Shastri, Vice Chancellor of Shri Vaishnav Vidyapeeth Visshwavidyalaya Upinder Dhar, Prof A C Pandey , Director, Inter-University Accelerator Centre.
