Mumbai: Confusion continues over the medical examinations in Maharashtra even as the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) on July 1 announced dates for all under-graduate medical courses in the month of August.
The courses of theory exams of all first, second and third years of MBBS, Homeopathy, Ayurvedic, Unani, Nursing, Physiotherapy, Dental exams etc have been announced by the MUHS with gaps between exams, as promised, though there is still lack of clarity on the practical exams. With most medical colleges turned Covid hospitals, students are wary about health issues while giving the exams.
Founder president Siddharth Ingle of the Maharashtra Students Union (MASU) stated: “There is a complete lockdown with trains not functional till August. Even if students are given the option of giving exams in the closest exam center, we found that most centers are a minimum of 30 Kms away. Also, will the state take responsibility if the students get infected during the exams?
If a student gets Covid mid-exams, what will be his status for the rest of the exams? Also, there is no mention of insurance for students.” The Maharashtra government had cancelled the exams of the non-professional courses under its jurisdiction like the Bachelors of Science, Commerce and Arts by invoking the provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005. However, the apex authorities that govern the professional courses like Law, Medical, Law, Pharmacy, Engineering etc have failed to take a clear stand on cancellation of exams causing much confusion among students.
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The Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT) at Matunga, Mumbai too had decided to go ahead with the exams from July 15 in electronic format and students were asked to register online through a Google form. The viva for these students was also to be conducted online and final year students were assured that exams results would be declared by July 31, to facilitate choosing their career paths. However, even these e-exams were objected to by the Yuva Sena, which insisted that students be promoted as per the state decision. The joint director of technical education dashed off a letter to ICT late on Thursday evening asking them to comply with the state directives.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) is yet to come out with its guidelines on exams that could have cleared the air for students. Academicians are worried that failure to assess and evaluate students by scores would decline the credibility of a particular course or institution and would undermine chances of students pursuing higher studies abroad.
