UGC considering a later start to academic calendar

New Delhi

New Delhi

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University Grants Commission (UGC), the higher education regulator, is considering a later start to the academic calendar as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to keep campuses shut and universities struggle to hold examinations.

An expert committee headed by Central University of Haryana vice chancellor R C Kuhad has written to UGC that admissions to undergraduate courses be completed by the end of October and the new session begin by November, according to a person familiar with the developments who requested anonymity.

The panel has also recommended that for postgraduate courses, the admission process be completed by the end of November and the session commence from December 1.

The human resource development (HRD) ministry and UGC had appointed the Kuhad committee to make recommendations on the calendar for the Covid-hit academic year 2020-21. The panel had earlier recommended that the session begin from September-October .

With no improvement on the pandemic front, the Kuhad panel has now sent revised recommendations to the UGC, which is expected to take a call on them in the coming days, according to the person cited above.

Significantly, it was in the same revised report that the Kuhad committee had also suggested that exams for the final year in all courses be held -- whether online, offline or a blend of both. The report also suggested that all university exams be completed by September 30.

“The UGC had in an emergent meeting on July 6 discussed the part of the report about exams. Most of the suggestions were accepted. However, the committee has also given revised dates for the academic calendar. The UGC is yet to take a call on the revised dates. The panel has suggested that the session for Bachelor {degree} programmes begin from November 2 and Masters programmes from December 1,” said the person.

The Kuhad committee’s suggestion on further pushing the start of the academic calendar to November and December would be discussed in the coming weeks based on how the situation evolves, a second person aware of the matter said.

“It is expected that results of all school boards would be out by July-August so the session for undergraduate courses can begin early. The postgraduate courses would begin after university results are out. However, there may also be a need to compress semesters or readjust syllabus etc if the session gets too curtailed,” said the second person.

According to an academic calendar issued by UGC earlier, admissions to the undergraduate and postgraduate programmes for the 2020-21 session ought to be completed by August 31. If the necessity arises, provisional admissions could be made and documents of qualifying examinations cleared by students may be accepted up to September 30.

The Academic Session 2020-21 may commence from August 1 for old students and from September 1 for fresh students, the UGC said.

Former UGC member Inder Mohan Kapahy said: “Considering the trajectory of spread of Covid in India to extend the beginning of academic sessions for UG and PG courses from November and December respectively is a reasonable decision. However the decision of the Kuhad Committee, accepted by the UGC, to make it mandatory to hold the final year semester end or year end examinations in offline/online/mixed mode needs revist. The UGC has done away with the compulsory requirement for such examinations for non final year UG and PG students. They shall be promoted in ac ordnance with average performances and internal assessments in the previous years or semesters. Why should the same formula not be applied also to final year students. It should be appreciated that final year students are in a state of psychological limbo from March 2020 onwards. They are worried about future admissions to higher classes or about their job prospects. Epidemiologists are predicting that peak in India may reach after two or three months. Final year exams may require to be further postponed. This shall add to the stress already accumulated on the young minds. UGC should apply the same rational formula for all students whether in final or non final years.”

“We can study on our own. But there is definitely advantage of being in a classroom. There are no labs available to a student at home and no social life either. These are uncertain times which are affecting students. We hope the policymakers take the best decisions to bring learning back on track,” said Shubham, a student pursuing B Tech in Delhi.