Postpone exams to April: UGC to univs, colleges

In an order released on Thursday, the commission said it has been issuing advisories from time to time for universities and affiliated colleges regarding preventive measures to be undertaken in the wake of COVID-19 threat.

“Further, communication has been received from the HRD Ministry that adequate precautionary measures are to be taken by the institutions to face the situation arising out of COVID-19,” said UGC Secretary Rajnish Jain adding “all ongoing university examinations will be rescheduled after March 31”.

Ordering that all the evaluation work could also be rescheduled, he said “all educational institutions have been told to maintain regular communication with the students and teachers through electronic means and keep them informed and save them from anxiety”.

He also said that all educational institutions should notify helpline numbers and email IDs which students could access for their queries. “In addition, all the universities and colleges are further requested to advice the students, parents, teachers and staff not to panic and take precautionary measures”.

In a separate statement, Chief Executive and Secretary of Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations Gerry Arathoon said in view of corona threat, it has been decided to postpone all ICSE and ISC year 2020 examinations scheduled to be conducted between March 19 and March 31.

Stating that ICSE exams were scheduled to end on March 30, and ISC exams on March 31, the official said the revised dates for the conduct of the remaining papers shall be notified in due course of time. “The heads of schools are required to ensure that all concerned, including teachers and students, are informed of these changes immediately,” he said.