Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has stated that he will be writing to the Central Government to seek a cancellation of the examinations emphasizing on the fact that it is not all feasible to conduct the university examinations in September as per the new guidelines. The Punjab state government had earlier announced the cancellation of the university examinations in the state in view of the situation. The state had announced to award degrees and promote the students based on their performance in the previous semester.
The HRD Ministry had earlier said that the examinations for the universities and colleges will have to be conducted by the end of September 2020. The decision was made following approval from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Punjab state Chief Minister in response via a press release said that the Coronavirus cases in Punjab are increasing every day and are projected to be at its peak in September which is why he is not ready to risk the lives of the students under such circumstances.
In the official press release the chief minister questions how can the government take the risk of exposing the students by bringing them together for the examination at such a point further adding that he will be writing to the Prime Minister and the Home Minister to revoke the order passed on July 6, 2020.
The Chief Minister said that the examinations cannot be conducted inline which the UGC has suggested as an option since a large number of students in Punjab belong to the rural areas and are from the backward communities who do not have access to any affordable and uninterrupted internet connectivity. In a meeting conducted with the Education Department for discussing the issue at hand, the Chief Minister stressed on the fact that it is not feasible to conduct the exams under the present circumstances.
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Punjab Technical Education minister Sharanjit Singh Channi has also agreed with the state chief minister's point of view stating that the situation does not call for the safe conduct of the examinations.
The state chief minister has also asked the Higher Education Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa to write to his counterparts in the union government on the matter. The chief minister has also urged the Vice-Chancellors of various state universities and institutions to write to the UGCC to cancel the exams keeping in mind the risk involved.
State Education Secretary Rahul Bhandari pointed out that with the increasing COVID-19 care in the state many of the universities and colleges have been evacuated and converted to COVID-19 care centres, while regular trains/ bus services have not resumed operations yet which make it impossible for students to travel for the exams.
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