All undergraduate and postgraduate students, except those in the final/terminal semesters, will be promoted without examinations for the 2019-20 academic year. This applies even to engineering courses. For final/terminal semesters, the respective universities will conduct examinations before September.
A decision to this effect was taken by the Higher Education Department considering the safety of students during the Covid-19 crisis.
Final semester students, who are unable to attend the examination in September, will be allowed to appear in the next examinations for such courses, which may be conducted by universities as and when feasible.
To promote intermediate semester students to higher semesters, 50% internal assessment and 50% of marks in the previous performance would be considered. In case previous semester marks are not available, particularly for first year of annual pattern of examinations, 100% evaluation may be done on the basis of internal evaluation.
Addressing a press conference on Friday, Higher Education Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan said, “If a student wishes to improve the grades, he/she may appear for exams for such subjects during the next semester.”
“We have consulted vice-chancellors of all universities and academicians at various levels before taking this decision. Considering the safety of students, we have taken the decision,” said the minister.
Students welcomed the announcement. “We demanded that the government promote students without exams as we were unable to grasp the subjects in online classes,” said a student.