States can’t promote students without final year exams: SC on UGC Guidelines

States can cancel but exams mandatory : SC

New Delhi : Top court Supreme verdict of final year examinations 2020 is finally out. The SC has ruled that while the examinations can be cancelled by the states under the Disaster Management Act, the degrees cannot be promoted. “States cannot promote students without final year examinations” , Supreme Court verdict on Friday.

However, the states, in turn, approach UGC to get extension of the deadlines. The UGC guidelines have been upheld by the top court.

The bottom line is that all students have to take the final year exams, states can only postpone them but cannot cancel them, according to the SC verdict.

Several petitions had called for the exams to be cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic. The petitions referred to difficulties faced by students at time of all educational institutions were closed amid COVID-19 outbreak. They argued that students have completed five Semesters and had a circulated grade point average or CGPA, which could be the basis for results without final 3rd year/6th semester examinations.

But, Supreme court ruled that “Internal Assessment will not suffice”

The Supreme Court on Friday disposed of the petitions challenging the guidelines issued by the University Grants Commission (UGC) for conducting final semester exams by September 30 with following orders :

Serial No	Apex Court Verdict
1	The bench has refused the prayer to quash the UGC Guidelines to hold the exams
2	The directions of State Disaster Management Authority for cancelling exams in that particular State will prevail over the UGC guidelines
3	The directions of the state Disaster Management Authority to promote the students on the basis of previous performance is beyond the scope of the Disaster Management Act
4	States or Union Territory cannot promote final year students without examinations as ordered by UGC.
5	States/UTs given liberty to approach the UGC to seek postponement of the exams in the light of coronavirus pandemic situation