Mumbai: Over 10.18 lakh students have raised an uproar following the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) direction and revision of University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines to conduct final year exams. Students unions have written letters to the UGC, Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and state government to not conduct final year exams in Maharashtra considering risks involved as the number of COVID-19 cases are increasing every day.
Students agitated with constant back and forth decision in terms of final year exams claim they are suffering mental stress.
Vibhuti Jaiswal, a student said, "I have been in tremendous stress for the last three months. Both the central and state governments are not bothered about our lives."
While Beniyal Das, another student said, "The MHRD, MHA and UGC want us to appear for exams when Maharashtra has the highest number of coronavirus cases in India. What about our health and safety? Enough is enough because the government has been playing with our lives even during a pandemic situation."
The Maharashtra Students Welfare Association (MSWA) has written a letter on July 7 to Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, minister of HRD, UGC and state government demanding cancellation of exams. Vaibhav Edke, President of MSWA, said, "Final year exams should not be conducted in Maharashtra. We got to consider the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic situation in Maharashtra. We will stage a hunger strike outside Mantralaya, fight legally and protest if the state government does not take a decision in favour of students."
Also, the Maharashtra Students Union (MASU) has written to the UGC, central and state government to cancel exams. Siddharth Ingle, founder president of MASU, said, "The mental health and well-being of students have got slaughtered between the dirty politics played by the central and state government authorities. The UGC has just issued guidelines but it is the prerogative of the state to take a final decision whether to cancel or conduct exams considering the ground situation."
