Srinagar: Vice Chancellors of universities in Jammu and Kashmir have stated that a student-friendly mechanism shall be devised to help them overcome the crisis triggered by the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic, to which mass promotion is not the solution.
A meeting was held Tuesday at the University of Kashmir under the chairmanship of the varsity’s Vice Chancellor Prof Talat Ahmad. The meeting was the 3rd in a series of meetings, in person and through online, among the VCs of universities in J&K to discuss the issues faced by the student community due to the prevailing Covid-19 situation.
The meeting was also attended by Prof Me’raj ud Din Mir, VC, CUK, Prof Mushtaq A Siddiqi, VC, IUST, Prof Rakesh Sehgal, Director, NIT, and Prof Sheikh Javaid Ahmed, VC, Cluster University Srinagar.
Those from Jammu Division who attended the meeting through video conferencing were 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.
As per a statement issued by the Public Relations Centre at Kashmir University on behalf of the J&K Vice Chancellors’ Forum, the VCs deliberated upon the difficulties and challenges faced by the students at present which, among others, include: Mental health issues created by the lockdown; Lack of proper and effective internet services; The mandatory requirement of social/physical distancing; Non-availability of public transport; and Deteriorating financial/economic situation of their families.
The VCs in the light of the above difficulties and according to 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 crisis, the statement said.
It said 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”.
In this backdrop, the VCs recommended that the students shall be evaluated in light of the recent UGC guidelines.
They said 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.
Besides, the evaluation of students may be done by the teachers under the supervision of the Departmental Committees/ Principals 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 a time-bound manner, the statement said.

Irshad Khan