Holding final year exams to protect students' future: Education Minister

Union minister of education Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' on Monday said the decision by the UGC to carry out final year examinations has been taken while keeping in mind the future of students.

The decision has been taken keeping the future of students in mind. It was done so that students do not face any difficulty in future. The universities have been given the option of conducting the examination in online, offline or blended mode, he said during his interaction with the Vice Chancellors of different universities.

Pokhriyal said the New Education Policy will strengthen India's position as a leader on the global stage.

We have aimed to increase GER to 50 pc by 2035, it's a huge target we have to achieve which would mean enrolling 3.5 crores more students, Pokhriyal said.

This NEP 2020 is the foundation of nation-building. I urge you to plan how research can be improved. We have always been in favour of giving autonomy to universities, in the phased manner we are looking at how to improve the 45,000 degree colleges and give them autonomy. Right now only 8,000 colleges have the autonomy, but in the phased manner this will be increased, he added.

On July 6, the UGC issued exam-related guidelines asking universities to complete the final year, final semester examination by September end in offline, online or blended mode.

Several petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court of India challenging the guidelines and seeking cancellation of final year exams.