UGC files response in SC as plea challenges guidelines: What it said on final-year exams

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The University Grants Commission (UGC) on Thursday filed a response before the Supreme Court to the petitions challenging the July 6 directive mandating all the universities and colleges to conduct final-year examinations by September 30 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The response has once again made it clear that the UGC is no mood to budge from its stand. In its detailed response, the regulatory body for higher education said that all universities/institutions in the country are obligated to conduct terminal semester/final year examinations by the end of September 2020. On questions raised over the revised set of guidelines, the UGC said they were a result of careful deliberations and based on the recommendations of an expert committee consisting of several members.

The pleas filed before the top court have sought directions to the authorities to not conduct the final year examinations and to declare results on the basis of past performance or internal assessment of the students. They have also sought directions to the authorities to subsequently provide another chance to improve marks to those willing students, who may be unsatisfied with their score based on past performance or internal assessment.

UGC'S RESPONSE BEFORE SUPREME COURT

(quoted verbatim)

1. In case a student of terminal semester/final year is unable to appear in the examination conducted by the university for whatsoever reasons maybe, he/she may be given opportunity to appear in special examinations for such courses/papers, which may be conducted by the university as and when feasible, so that the student is not put to any inconvenience/disadvantage. 
2. It is submitted that the UGC has issued such guidelines to protect the academic future of students across the country which will be irreparably damaged if their final year/terminal semester examinations are not held, while also keeping in mind their health and safety. 
3. It is well settled that courts of law do not ordinarily intervene in academic decisions and policies involving standards and quality of education, nor do they normally substitute the views of expert bodies. 
4. The decision of certain state governments (such as Maharashtra and Delhi govt) to either cancel the terminal semester/final-year exams for UG/PG students, and/or to graduate such students and confer degrees without appearing for the final year/terminal semester examinations is plainly contrary to the UGC guidelines. 
5. Moreover, such a decision directly affects the standards of higher education in the country and will be an encroachment on the legislative field of coordinating and determining the standards of higher education that is exclusively reserved for Parliament under Entry 66 of List I of Schedule VII of the Constitution. 
6. It is further submitted that, as per settled law, provisions which give overriding effect to an Act must be given a restricted meaning so as to be kept confined to the legislative policy, intent, object, scheme and purpose of that Act. Such provisions cannot be invoked to render the statutory provisions of another special Act, such as the UGC Act, nugatory. 
7. Along with the UGC's revised guidelines, the Ministry of Home Affairs has also permitted the conduct of final year/terminal semester exams by universities and institutions. According to MHA's communication, the final-year/terminal semester exams are to be compulsory conducted as per the UGC guidelines dated 29.04.2020 and 06.07.2020. 
8. The UGC guidelines dated 06.07.2020 adequately account for the evolving situation of the COVID-19 pandemic because they (a) provide sufficient time till the end of September 2020 to conduct the final year/terminal semester examinations after following the prescribed protocols and procedures relating to COVID-19; (b) give sufficient flexibility to universities/institutions to conduct such exams online, offline (pen and paper) or blended (online+offline) mode; and (c) provide for an examination through special chance for students who "for whatsoever the reason maybe" are unable to appear for the examinations conducted by a university/institution by the end of September 2020. The universities/institutions may conduct such special examination as and when feasible so that the students concerned are not put to any inconvenience and disadvantage. Therefore, the concerns of the petitioners and the state governments have been more adequately addressed by the UGC.