Yuva Sena moves SC on final year exams

Courts become last recourse as State- Center standoff on terminal exams continues

Mumbai: The standoff between various states and the Center over holding final year academic examinations has now reached the courts. Yuva Sena, the youth wing of the ruling party Shiv Sena in Maharashtra moved the Supreme Court (SC) challenging the guidelines issued by the University Grants Commission (UGC). The Yuva Sena demanded that Universities be allowed to decide on whether to hold terminal Semester or final year examinations depending upon local conditions in respective states.

The Yuva Sena was forced to seek legal recourse with the UGC adamant on holding exams across the country by September 2020, even as Maharashtra stayed firm on not holding one citing health concerns for students owing to a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases.

“The petition is for each and every student across the country, being forced to appear for an examination in an absolutely bizarre judgement of the situation by UGC and non-flexibility when it comes to human safety,” Aditya Thackeray, president of Yuva Sena tweeted on July 18.

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Thackeray also questioned if academic excellence could be adjudged by one examination and asked for an aggregate of past Semesters to be considered to determine academic excellence.

The Maharashtra government has strongly advocated cancellation of final year exams even in courts where various petitions are already being heard in the Bombay High Court. On July 17, a fourth-year Law student from Mumbai’s Government Law College (GLC) also moved the HC following which it has issued summons to UGC and the Bar Council of India, the apex board conducting Law exams in India.

Apart from challenging conducting of final year exams, Singh has also challenged the BCI directive that intermediate year students appear for their cancelled Semester exams, within a month of reopening of their academic terms post-pandemic. The conduct of final-year examinations would result in students “missing out on applying for higher studies or joining firms/advocates from where they have received a job offer or to begin with preparations for competitive examinations. Students who have secured admissions in post-graduate courses in Indian, as well as foreign universities, would be losing a year as they would not be able to submit their degree well in time” Singh’s petition stated.

The Maharashtra Students Union (MASU) also intervened in a petition seeking cancellation of state Government Resolution (GR) of June 19 cancelling final year exams in the state. The Union ministry of home affairs has been made a respondent in this case. The MASU too had been advocating cancellation of exams of both professional and non-professional courses.