Cancelling arrear exams inconceivable, says Madras High Court

By LE Desk

Chennai, April 8: The Madras High Court came down heavily on the Tamil Nadu government over its decision to cancel arrear exams for Engineering, MCA, and Arts and Science degrees except for final semester students.

The controversial decision had been announced in August by CM Edapadi K Palanisamy who claimed that the decision was taken keeping Covid-19 pandemic in mind and that students who have applied for the exams and paid fee shall be considered to have passed and evaluated based on internal marks and past test results.

The state also maintained that the decision was taken as per the UGC guidelines. However, the University Grants Commission had denied any such guidelines.

Chief Justice Sanjib Bannerjee and Justice Senthil Kumar called the state’s move “inconceivable”, India Today reported.

The judges also sought complete details about which students were declared passed and what evaluation method was opted for from every university involved by April 15.

“Unqualified persons cannot be certified to have qualified to pursue professional courses or even higher studies,” the Court said.

The Madras High Court also directed UGC and the state government to work together and suggest measures without compromising the sanctity of the system to serve the interests of the students.

It is to be noted that CM Edapadi K Palanisamy’s controversial decision to cancel arrear exams and declare those who paid exam fee to attend (except for final semester) gained a lot of traction during the election period, evening getting EPS the pet name ‘King of Arrear students’.

https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/news/story/cancelling-arrear-exams-inconceivable-says-madras-high-court-1788571-2021-04-08