MU unveils grading formula for colleges

More than two weeks after state higher and technical education minister Uday Samant announced that all university students, except final year students, will be promoted

More than two weeks after state higher and technical education minister Uday Samant announced that all university students, except final year students, will be promoted based on a gradation formula, the University of Mumbai (MU) released a circular clarifying the rules of gradation.

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According to the release, MU has requested all affiliated colleges to promote students from non-traditional courses on a 50:50 formula, where 50% is based on internal tests and other projects in the current semester and the other 50% is based on the student’s performance in the previous semester. “If there are any internal exams yet to be completed, colleges should conduct the same online or over phones,” stated the circular released late on Friday.

For those from traditional courses (BA, BCom and BSc), where students have no internal marks component, the university has stated that colleges should promote such students on the basis of their performance in the previous semester alone.

MU further highlighted that in courses where exams have already been conducted, assessment should be conducted at the earliest. “Colleges should work on the gradation process for all students and results should be declared accordingly and soon, so that institutes can start the process of admissions for all students into the next academic year,” stated the circular.

The education minister in his brief earlier this month had requested state universities to schedule all final year exams between July 1 and 30, however, earlier this week Samant approached the University Grants Commission (UGC) requesting permission to skip final year exams and instead promote all students based on their previous performance. However, his recommendation was questioned by the governor of Maharashtra, who is also the chancellor of all state universities.

In a previous circular, MU has also made it clear that students with Allowed-To-Keep-Term (ATKT) remarks in their previous semesters will be promoted to the next academic year. “Instead of wasting another academic year, these students are being given a chance to get promoted to the next year, provided they clear these subjects within 120 days of the start of the 2020-21 academic year,” stated previous the university circular.