Not possible to hold final exams in Maharashtra, CM Uddhav Thackeray tells PM

NAGPUR: Clearing all doubts on his government’s decision to cancel final year examinations in Maharashtra, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday wrote to prime minister Narendra Modi that the situation wasn’t conducive for holding examinations during Covid-19 outbreak.
He appealed to the PM to direct apex bodies for professional courses to endorse his government’s decision and issue necessary guidelines to the universities.They included All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Council of Architecture (COA), Pharmacy Council of India (PCI), Bar Council of India (BCI), National Council of Teachers Education (NCTE) and National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology.
Last Friday, when the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by Thackeray ended stalemate over the final exams by issuing a government resolution (GR) about their cancellation. It mentioned the apex bodies would be consulted in case of professional courses like engineering, pharmacy, law, architecture and others. It again led to confusion among the students on conduct of professional exams.
Thackeray’s letter to Modi cleared the remaining doubts on this issue. His earlier announcement about cancellation had led to uproar after chancellor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari objected to it as he was not consulted. Though the latter is yet to issue any statement on latest GR, government officials said he had more or less accepted the decision, considering the fact that exams were impossible in the current circumstances when Covid-19 cases were multiplying.
The CM told PM the pandemic had created many challenges for the students in state, which had highest number of cases in entire country. “The numbers are increasing in all major cities like Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Thane, Aurangabad, Nashik, Akola and others. The students and parents are not only concerned about their exams, but also about commencement of new academic year (2021-22). Conducting exams amid pandemic would be an enormous task for the district/municipal administration, examining authorities, transport officials, besides students and parents,” Thackeray said.
Reminding the PM about his earlier request on issuing uniform guidelines for cancellation of final year exams during CMs video conferencing on June 16, Thackeray said his government had implemented UGC guidelines on all exams except final year. “The apex body had advised to hold exams in July. But considering the Covid-19 crisis, the State Disaster Management Authority in its June 18 meeting had decided against it and award degrees based on the formula to be decided by the universities. An option would be granted to the students to appear in the exams, whenever feasible,” he said in the letter.