Due to pending official order regarding the final year exams, the Maharashtra Students Union (MASU) has written a letter to the Chief Justice (CJ) of the Bombay High Court (HC) to take suo motu cognisance in this matter. MASU highlighted the uncertainty and stress faced by final year students, who have no clarity whether their exams are cancelled or will be conducted considering the COVID-19 outbreak in the state.
Till date, there has been no government resolution or notification regarding the final year examination. Students have made repeated appeals, staged a hunger strike and voted in cancellation of the final year exams, as it may pose a threat to their health and safety. In the letter, MASU stated, "We pray the CJ to direct the state government to take an informed decision at the earliest and issue an official order regarding the same."
In addition, MASU demanded that if the state government is planning to conduct exams despite the crisis, then they should declare necessary measures. MASU stated, "The government should declare the schedule of the final year exams, assessment, revaluation, ATKT exams, declaration of results and start of the new academic year along with safety and precautionary measures. No students or staff involved in the examination should be put at risk due to the COVID-19 pandemic."
The state will be responsible if any student or staff is affected or infected with coronavirus due to the examination, claimed Siddharth Ingle, founder president of MASU. Ingle said, "The state should take full responsibility even if a single student or staff is affected or infected by the coronavirus infection. The state has no right to put students' lives at risk by compelling them to appear for exams, while there are a high number of COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra. We will file a petition in the HC, if there is no response from the CJ or the state."
Students are in a fix as Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had announced cancellation of the final year exams on May 31. However, later, on June 2, the Governor of Maharashtra wrote a letter to the CM stating, "Cancellation of final exams would jeopardise the future of students." Since then, the state government and higher education department has stayed silent and not made any announcements regarding the final year examination.
