Graduation, PG exams only for final semester in Karnataka
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Friday announced its decision to promote all intermediate semester students pursuing degree and post-graduation courses including engineering and diploma for the academic year 2019- 20 without examinations, due to prevailing COVID-19 situation. It said examinations for the final semester students would be conducted before the end of September 2020, as per UGC guidelines and Governor Vajubhai Vala has given his assent for the same. However, it clarified that the Karnataka Common Entrance Test (KCET)- 2020 examination for admissions to Engineering, Pharmacy, Pharma D and other courses will be held on the decided dates of July 30 and 31.
The government has taken this decision to promote students after consulting educationists and university vice chancellors, taking into consideration students' health, well- being and future, also UGC guidelines have also been duly taken into account, Deputy Chief Minister C N Ashwath Narayan's office said in a release. The decision will be limited to the academic year 2019-20 only, it said.
"COVID-19 has disrupted the education system - classes could not be held on time. Online learning introduced during the lockdown has received good responses and the government promptly tried its best to reach the last person in the chain," Narayan said.
Stating that the government mulled conducting offline classes and examinations too, he said, "but owing to the increase in the viral spread those thoughts have been dropped and it has been decided to pass and promote all intermediate semester students. Concerned Universities have been intimated to conduct examinations for all the final year/ semester students."
The Deputy Chief Minister said intermediate semester students will be assessed based on a comprehensive evaluation scheme with internal assessment marks and previous year's/ semester's marks considered in a 50:50 ratio, and for students in their first semester/year, the evaluation will be completely based on internal assessment marks.
If students feel to better their scores, provisions will be made for them to face examinations during the next semester and students who fail to succeed in the comprehensive evaluation process shall face examinations for respective subjects during the next semester, he said adding that backlog subjects will be allowed to be carried over as well.
