Srinagar/June, 16: The Vice Chancellors of all the Universities/Institutions of UT of J&K had series of meetings, in person and through online, to discuss the issues faced by the student community due to Covid-19 situation.
The third meeting of the series was held on Tuesday at University of Kashmir, Hazratbal, Srinagar under the chairmanship of Prof. Talat Ahmad, Vice Chancellor, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, J&K. The meeting at Srinagar was attended by Prof. Me’raj ud Din Mir, VC, CUK, Prof. Mushtaq A Siddiqi, VC, IUST, Prof. Rakesh Sehgal, Director, NIT, Prof. Sheikh Javaid Ahmed, VC, Cluster University Srinagar. The VC’s from Jammu Division, Prof. Manoj Dhar, VC JU, Prof. Ashok Aima, VC, Central University of Jammu, Prof. Javed Musarrat, VC, BGSBU, Prof. Ravindra Kumar Sinha, VC, SMVDU and Prof. Anju Bhasin, VC, Cluster University Jammu attended the meeting through video conference.
The VCs deliberated upon the difficulties and challenges faced by the students at present which among others include – A) Mental health issues created by the lockdown B) Non availability of proper and effective internet services C) The mandatory requirement of social/physical distancing D) Non availability of public transport. E) Deteriorating financial/economic situation of their families.
The VCs in the light of the above difficulties, the guidelines issued by UGC/MHRD and the Local Administration, discussed in detail various means and methods of evaluating the students under the given circumstances and arrived at the conclusion that a student friendly mechanism shall be devised to meet the expectations of the students to help them overcome the current crises. The VCs unanimously believed that mass promotion of the students is not a good solution in view of the fact that students will face problems in their future prospects and the credibility of their certificates will be questionable. Therefore the VCs recommended that the students shall be evaluated in light of the recent UGC guidelines. The modalities for assessment should be worked out by the universities which may include online assignments, case studies, project works, group discussions, viva voce and tests etc. The evaluation of students may be done by the concerned teachers under the supervision of the Departmental Committees/Principal of the Degree Colleges in consultation with their faculty.
The VCs while expressing concern viz a viz the health and mental wellbeing of all the students are keen to get the students evaluated and promoted in the time bound manner. This will ensure to get the academic calendar back on rails and also help students to move to other institutions in the country for higher studies and job opportunities.
