The University of Hyderabad, on Wednesday announced that it will comply with the Supreme Court order and conduct the end semester exams online for the final semester post-graduate students from September 16.
The decision was taken after a meeting of a high-level committee and discussion with Heads of Department and Deans of Schools. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Appa Rao Podile said that the University was compelled to comply with the orders of the Supreme Court on August 28 upholding the guidelines of the UGC to declare the results only after conducting end-semester examinations for the final semester students.
Those students who are unable to attend the exams from September 16, will have another opportunity to appear in the second spell of exams scheduled for October 5, said the university.
This is a shift from the earlier stance that the University took in June, where results were announced through an alternative evaluation mechanism based on continuous assessment and the cumulative grade point average (CGPA), in order to facilitate their graduation so that they could pursue further education or career opportunities. The authorities say that those results will now stand cancelled.
Students at the University of Hyderabad are opposing the announcement, however also saying that contempt of court should not take place. UoH Student Union President Abhishek Nandan said, "We can attempt to file a review petition in the Supreme Court order to help the students, but if it gets rejected, we will be left with no option to take the exams while risking our health. It is the responsibility of the University to facilitate the students in every way in such a scenario. Only online examination is not enough. Students should be given different options to take the exam", added Nandan.
The UoH Student Union has recommended that the university accept the option of open book examination wherein students can either use postal services to send their answers and assignments for the exams or dictate answers over phone verbally.
Explaining the decision, Vice Chancellor Prof. Appa Rao, in an open letter to the University community said that while the earlier decision was taken with the best interests of students in mind, after the SC judgement, the University has scheduled the end-semester examinations so as to not jeopardise the future of students if their degrees were to be invalidated by regulatory authorities. The Heads and Deans will work out a range of flexible options to administer the examinations online and minimise the inconvenience to students, he added.
