Describing the COVID-19 situation in the State as non-conducive for conduct of examinations, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday said that he will write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, seeking cancellation of exams in universities and colleges.
The Chief Minister said he will seek revocation of the July 6 Ministry of Home order on compulsory conduct of final terms exams in the universities and colleges by September, and withdrawal of the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) guidelines accordingly.
COVID-19 cases in Punjab are increasing every day and are projected to peak in September, Captain Amarinder pointed out, adding that he was not ready to risk the lives of students in these circumstances.
“How can we take the risk of exposing students by bringing them together for exams at this juncture?,” asked the Chief Minister. He further said that the exams could not be held in online mode, which the UGC had suggested as an option, since a large section of the students in Punjab, especially in the rural areas and among the backward communities, do not have access to affordable and uninterrupted Internet connectivity.
‘Not feasible’
It is just not feasible to hold exams in the current situation, he stressed at a meeting of the Education Department to discuss the issue. Pointing out that seven other States had already raised their concerns on this count with the Central government, Capt. Amarinder said all Congress-ruled States had in fact decided to approach the Union government in this regard.
Notably, the Punjab government had already announced its decision to award degrees and diplomas, and promote students on the basis of performance of past semesters.
