Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Thursday informed the Centre that it is not possible to conduct the under-graduate and post-graduate examinations under the prevailing COVID-19 situation in the state.
In a letter to the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), the state requested to reconsider the revised guidelines of the University Grants Commission (UGC) and not to make the UG and PG final term examinations mandatory. It also asked the Ministry to adhere to its decision on cancellation of the examinations.
The UGC proposes to conduct the examinations on offline mode (by pen and paper) or online by the end of September 2020 in order to protect the academic interests of the students.
According to the UGC, the special examinations can be conducted by the university whenever possible so that the students do not face any inconvenience or loss of career. This provision will only be applicable as a one-time measure for the current academic session 2019-20.
On June 11, the state government had cancelled the pending UG and PG examinations of all universities. The government took the decision after Higher Education Minister Arun Sahoo held a video conference with the vice-chancellors and principals of autonomous colleges.
