FRONTLIST News | Odisha government urges HRD Minister to not make final-exams in September mandatory

FRONTLIST News | Odisha government urges HRD Minister to not make final-exams in September mandatory
on Jul 24, 2020

Mr. Arun Sahoo reiterated that he had not received any response from the state government MHRD regarding the previous letter dated July 9.

Considering the growing number of COVID-19 cases across the country, the Odisha government on Thursday again wrote to the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) requesting that undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) final year examinations not be made compulsory.

Dr. Arun Kumar Sahoo posted the letter to HRD Minister Mr Ramesh Pokhriyal on his Twitter handle: 

In the letter, Odisha Education Minister Arun Kumar Sahoo told Mr Pokhriyal that it was not possible or even advisable to conduct examinations in the state due to the pandemic. Sahoo reiterated that he had not received any response from the state government MHRD regarding the previous letter dated July 9. He added, “Due to non-receipt of any response or clarification from the MHRD, the state government and state public universities are in a dilemma regarding the conduct of UG and PG term examinations.” Sahoo mentioned in the letter, “Students and parents have become very anxious and restless due to such uncertainty and are contacting us in large numbers over the telephone to know whether they should start preparing for the examinations or not.” On the other side, the state minister said that students who are not satisfied with the assessment can take part in the exams in November-December when the situation in the state and the country also improves. On July 6, the University Grants Commission (UGC) issued final guidelines for the final year exams by the end of September. Despite repeated requests, the education regulator has insisted on the decision to test for all universities in the country by the end of September.