All Maharashtra universities final exams unlikely to be held before May 15

In Mumbai, final exams across public universities are most likely to be held only after May 15. Mumbai Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari organised a virtual meeting. In the meeting, most vice-chancellors agreed that it may be tough to hold any exam before mid-May considering the rise in cases and the consequent lockdown. Mr Koshyari is also the chancellor of all the universities of Mumbai. Uday Samant, Mumbai higher education minister, informed the governor that a six-member panel had been formed to chalk out various plans to hold final exams. If the lockdown is lifted in April, vice-chancellors have been told to figure out ways to conduct exams from mid-May as a part of Plan A.

If the lockdown goes on, they have been told to explore possibilities of conducting exams in smaller groups later as a part of Plan B. Apart from this, they have been told to examine other options. According to Mumbai University vice-chancellor Suhas Pednekar, even if the lockdown was lifted at some point, they couldn’t permit students in large numbers in colleges. The committee has been directed to submit a report with multiple plans within two days. According to a statement from Raj Bhavan, all public universities in the state will follow a uniform exam schedule.

The governor has directed universities to use technology to make sure that the teaching-learning process does not suffer due to the pandemic. Varsities have also been told to make use of their emergency fund to support innovative initiatives such as COVID-19 testing labs, manufacturing sanitisers, making masks, kits, low-cost ventilators. According to Pednekar, Mumbai University is working on building a facility for COVID-19 testing.
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