Indian Students’ Orgs Plan Massive Resistance Against UGC’s Online Exams
Student Struggle Editorial Team
The University Grants Commission (UGC) in a recent meeting on July 6, released its ‘Revised Guidelines on Examinations and Academic Calendar for the Universities in view of COVID-19 Pandemic’, in which it has been directed that all terminal students are to give their terminal semester or final year examinations “by the end of September, 2020 in offline (pen & paper), online/ blended (online+offline) mode”. Progressive students’ organisations have come out against the move to state that it is an indication that the government is trying to use the crisis into an opportunity to carry forward anti-people, anti-student, and anti-academic policies in the country’s higher education. As part of this, the All India Forum to Save Public Education, which consists of India’s prominent students’ organisations including the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), AISA, and the like, has announced their plan to organise long-drawn protests across four days, from 11 to 14 July, 2020.
The forum in its official release has stated that the pandemic will make it difficult to allow students and teachers to attend and conduct examinations respectively without compromising their safety and health. It also reminds about the deep set digital divide in the country, which would make the experience differ among students, with respect to their socio-economic statuses, geographical difficulties, and the like. The forum’s statement also adds that this decision has come out without taking into consultation all stakeholders of universities and that such a hurried plan would only bring down the standards of academics in the country. The opinions of the country’s many state governments too have been bypassed by the central government-run UGC’s declaration, which is also an attack on federalism, says the statement.
The All India Forum to Save Public Education’s protest will take place on four days, starting from today. According to the statement, there will be a joint protest, mass e-mailing and a ‘Twitter Storm’ today. On the second day, July 12, students unable to attend online examinations will release video messages from across the world. Following this, on July 13, there will be another online campaign with yet another ‘Twitter Storm’ and on other social media platforms. On the final day, July 14, notices of UGC, Home Ministry, MHRD and other concerned authorities will be burnt by students, along with the effigy-burning of Home Minister Amit Shah and MHRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal in various parts of the country. This will be followed by a signature campaign to raise awareness about the issue and these will be emailed to the MHRD (minister.hrd@gov.in). There will also be protest demonstrations at administrative offices, maintaining COVID-19 protocols.
Read the forum’s official statement below:
Opposing the Anti-Student, Exclusionary and Corporate Oriented Guidelines Released by the UGC on 6th July
The University Grants Commission in a meeting on 06.07.2020 released its ‘Revised Guidelines on Examinations and Academic Calendar for the Universities in view of COVID-19 Pandemic’ in which it has been directed that all terminal students are to give their terminal semester or final year examinations “by the end of September,2020 in offline (pen & paper), online/ blended (online + offline) mode”. The Revised Guidelines have been brought out purportedly to uphold “the principles of health, safety, fair and equal opportunity for students” even while preserving the academic credibility of the degrees received by students and their future prospects. This distressing document is a clear indication that the Central Government instead of seeking a solution to the pandemic is trying to convert a crisis which is a reflection of its failure to respond appropriately to the health emergency, into an opportunity to carry forward a fundamentally anti-people, anti-student, and anti-academic agenda in higher education.
It is evident that in most parts of the country, the situation of the pandemic is unlikely to permit regular examinations to be conducted by September without seriously compromising on the safety of students and faculty. Given the spread and growth of the Covid-19 epidemic, what is the best alternative method of ensuring all students can get an academically credible degree without extensive delay will necessarily be different across the country and in different Universities because of the sheer diversity in the circumstances of different Universities – be it either with respect to their sizes and geographical spreads or the socio-economic status of their students. Not letting Universities choose the method most appropriate to their conditions through their respective statutory processes and in consultation with all stakeholders, therefore can only serve to lower academic standards.
Importantly, the move, that has clearly come at the behest of the Central Government, is to be particularly rejected as an assault on federalism because State Governments are being bypassed despite education being a state subject and the bulk of the University system consisting of state universities. The supposed availability of the online education alternative is thus the Central Government’s excuse to evade facing up to its responsibility to take proactive measures to ensure the safe resumption of regular academic activities at the earliest. The state of affairs in the country may be clearly evidenced in the case of Kumaun University in Uttarakhand where students had to migrate out of the state in the absence of proper colleges and facilities. The students of Kumaon University in this regard simply refused to comply with the direction citing the absolute lack of mechanisms whatsoever. NSSO data on internet connectivity and access in Indian households clearly points to the fact that most students would never be able to attend online classes or even download videos – both requiring high speed unlimited data.
The reality dawned on many state governments and relaxations were provided for students. In Madhya Pradesh for instance all students including final year students were promoted with the highest grades obtained given as grades for the entire semester. Exams were similarly cancelled in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and West Bengal. The new UGC guidelines however would now mean that these states will either be forced to reverse their stands or have online examinations – a body blow to students in distress.
The Delhi University, ignoring repeated appeals by students and teachers alike, has gone on to establish the Open Book Examinations in an online mode, hosted by Amazon Web Services. We can be in no doubt that this hurried decision by the UGC MHRD to force students to give exams when the whole world is in a dire condition is a precursor to allow the companies affected by a fall in profits due to one capitalist crisis or the other, to recuperate by hosting examinations of universities. It seems that the Amazon model is now being sought to be pushed for the whole of the country irrespective of consequences for lakhs of students.
It is also intriguing that the UGC has prescribed online submissions, assignments and even telephonic viva-voce for conducting final-year assessments. The UGC must answer as to how the same would “ensure academic credibility, career opportunities and future progress of students globally.” In a situation wherein the whole world is dealing with the Coronavirus, online classes have been indifferently attended, no offline classes happened, how are these sham exams supposed to test capabilities for jobs?
Looking at the manner in which the Central Government has failed in controlling the trajectory of the pandemic, it is clear that most universities will not be able to hold exams of any sort. All Universities have systems, methods, and procedures to ensure the fairness, credibility and integrity of examinations conducted in the regular pen and paper mode. These, however, cannot work if the examinations are held in online mode. In such circumstances, it is also not true that online examinations will give a more credible and meaningful assessment of a student’s capability and learning than other available alternatives – like internal or continuous assessment through means other than examinations in their final year courses.
The University of Hyderabad via the intervention of students has established a precedent with extrapolation of grades from previous semesters and declaring results of final year students with a chance for improvement exams. We demand that all students be provisionally promoted and at least those who want to look for future prospects not be unnecessarily troubled. The model of assessing students for this semester can also involve a model proposed in West Bengal and Delhi to give 75% of weight to the previous semesters and years with 25% weightage being granted to internal assessments carried out this year before the lockdown was initiated.
The All India Forum to Save Public Education appeals to the entire student community of the country to rise against and not give in to such draconian impositions of such unjust and unrealistic policies that divorces higher education from its potential to contribute to an egalitarian transformation of Indian society. Unitedly, we have decided these actions in coming days.
ALL INDIA FORUM TO SAVE PUBLIC EDUCATION
Follow us for regular updates!
Telegram
t.me/studentstrugglein
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/studentstrugglemonthly
WhatsApp
https://chat.whatsapp.com/BvEXdIEy1sqIP0YujRhbDR