University of Mumbai to seek extension from UGC to complete IDOL exams

The University of Mumbai (MU) will be approaching the University Grants Commission (UGC) to seek an extension on the October 31 deadline for completion of all online

The University of Mumbai (MU) will be approaching the University Grants Commission (UGC) to seek an extension on the October 31 deadline for completion of all online exams. While exams of students studying in all 800-odd MU-affiliated colleges have already been concluded, the varsity will be seeking the deadline extension for its distance education wing, the Institute of Distance and Open Learning (IDOL), the exams for which are currently underway.

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This decision comes days after Maharashtra minister for higher and technical education Uday Samant announced that all state universities in need of an extension of deadline for completion of online exams should approach UGC via the state’s disaster management committee on an individual level. “Some state universities, after facing initial hiccups, are currently in the midst of conducting their final-year (summer 2020) online exams, and since it is impossible for them to meet the October 31 deadline, we have asked the universities to approach UGC. We are sure the extension will be approved,” Samant said in his press conference on October 24.

IDOL exams had to be rescheduled as the first session in the first week of October was marred by technical glitches that left around 9,000 third-year Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) and Bachelor of Arts (BA) students unable to appear for the tests online.

While the rescheduled backlog exams for IDOL students were held on Google forms on October 19, 20 and 21, the exams starting Monday are being conducted by a new service provider hired by the university last week.

MU had recently announced the completion of all final-year exams that were conducted across all affiliated colleges in October. In a statement released on October 19, MU revealed that around 2.2 lakh final-year students studying in over 800 affiliated colleges completed over 400 exams online. More than 1.58 lakh fresh candidates along with 67,500 students with backlogs/allowed to keep term (ATKT) appeared for their papers online, said the statement. By Monday, results of almost 32 of these exams had also been declared by MU.

“Since our examination system was decentralised, MU managed to complete all exams in time and is already working on declaration of results. The extension we need will be for IDOL, and we hope the UGC will consider the same,” said a spokesperson for the university.

Other universities including Nagpur, Solapur and Amravati universities, also had to reschedule their online exams after technical glitches forced them to postpone exams to end of October. In many cases, these exams will be conducted till mid-November.