Karnataka HC issues notice in plea challenging UGC Guidelines mandating final year exams by September 30

The Karnataka High Court has issued notice in a petition challenging the University Grants Commission's Guidelines (UGC Guidelines) mandating the conduct of final year University examinations by September end this year, amid the COVID-19 pandemic (Vedant v. Union of India)..The Petitioners are final-year engineering undergraduates at the Bangalore Institute of Technology. .Their plea challenges the directive mandating the conduct of final-year examinations by September end as "illegal, onerous, arbitrary" and as "striking at the root of Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Constitution.".Additionally, they assail the very decision to conduct examinations during the pandemic for final year/ terminal semester students as "perverse, arbitrary" and demonstrative of a "non-application of mind". The decision is detrimental to students, staff, and the public interest, the student-petitioners aver..The petition records that in March, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) had directed that inmates of hostels vacate the premises in order to reduce overcrowding amid the mushrooming COVID-19 pandemic. .The petitioners, who lived in paid accommodation, recount that they were forced to leave the city in those circumstances. Most students returned to their hometowns in other regions and states after the declaration of lockdown, the petitioners state. .The Ministry of Home Affairs thereafter ordered the closure of educational institutions and a deferral of scheduled university examinations. During this period, educational institutions equipped with infrastructure attempted to conduct classes online..Noting that many students, especially those in rural areas and without access to the internet, have not been able to access the online classes, the petitioners state that their own institute "barely held any classes even in the online mode." Further, for a few subjects, no classes were held at all, the petitioners point out.."This is the situation when more than half a semesters classes were still yet to be taught when the first order of closure was issued by the State Government on 13/03/2020. It is evident that the prescribed syllabus in respect of the final semester has not been taught to the Petitioners in a satisfactory manner and in any case not in a manner that would equip them to face an examination on the basis of the same", the petitioners state..The UGC by its July 6 Guidelines, instructed all educational institutions to conduct final year examinations either online, offline, or by a mix of both these modes ('blended' mode). These exams were directed to be completed by the end of September..Pursuant to this, the petitioners submit that their educational institute, affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU), notified the conduct of final-year examinations offline, that is, by a physical examination..These decisions have been contended to be ex facie arbitrary and illegal. The petition is expected to be taken up for hearing on August 10, Monday..Petitions against the UGC directive to conduct final-year examinations by September end are also pending before the Supreme Court. These are expected to be taken up on August 10 as well. .31 students from across India move Supreme Court challenging UGC directive to hold Final Year Exams by September 30.A similar plea had also been filed before the Bombay High Court. The UGC's stance defending the guidelines before the Bombay High Court was reiterated in the Supreme Court. .[COVID-19] Students' academic futures will be irreparably damaged if exams not held: UGC tells Bombay HC