Central govt. funded institutions asked to delay offline exams, review on dates in early June

New Delhi: The Ministry of Education wrote to all the educational institutions funded by the central govt. on Monday asking them to postpone the offline exams scheduled for this month. The decision came in the view of ongoing second wave of COVID-19 across the country. However, no request has been made to delay the online exams.

Secretary for Higher Education, Amit Khare also said in his letter that the decision on new dates for examinations will be reviewed in the first week of June. The letter said, “The institutions have been further advised to ensure that if anyone in the institution needs any assistance it should be provided immediate possible help so that he/she comes out of the distress at the earliest. All Institutions have to encourage eligible persons to go for vaccination and ensure that everyone follows Covid-19 appropriate behaviour to remain safe.”

Keeping the current pandemic situation in mind, Secretary, #HigherEducation, @EduMinOfIndia Shri Amit Khare Ji has urged the Higher Education Institutions to postpone all offline examinations scheduled in the month of May, 2021. pic.twitter.com/GCf7SrE73W

— Ministry of Education (@EduMinOfIndia) May 3, 2021

The educational institutes funded by the central govt. include the Central Universities, Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) and National Institutes of Technology (NITs).

Last month, the government had postponed the Class 12 CBSE Board examination while cancelling this year’s board examinations of Class 10.  Many students, parents, and political leaders urged the government for this decision citing the second wave of the virus.

Officials also said that UGC will announce a new set of guidelines for the conduct of examinations along with a new academic calendar as the second wave of the virus has once again disrupted the teaching and academic life.