Following the Supreme Court's order on the cancellation of Class 12 examinations for CBSE and ISC boards earlier this month, the University Grant Commission (UGC), on 17 July, issued guidelines for college admissions and examinations for the upcoming academic year.
It has asked colleges to conduct the final-year examination by 31 August and complete the admissions process by 30 September, to be able to start the academic year from 1 October.
What else do the guidelines say?
When Will First-Year College Admissions Begin?
Institutions of higher education have been asked to ensure that the admissions process for undergraduate courses begins only after the results for Class 12 students are declared by the CBSE, ICSE and state boards.
“It is expected that all the School Boards will declare their results for the Class 12 examinations by 31 July 2021,” the UGC guidelines read.
By When Will First-Year Admissions Conclude?
Admissions for first-year courses will be completed by 30 September, the guidelines say, while the relevant documents of the qualifying examinations can be accepted upto 31 December.
Will There Be a Refund if Admissions Get Cancelled?
Yes, a full refund of fees will be given on account of all cancellations of admissions/migrations of students for the academic session 2021-2022.
“It is made clear that the entire fee, including all charges (ie, there should be zero cancellation charges) should be refunded… thereafter, on cancellation/withdrawal of admissions up to 31 December 2021, the entire fee collected from a student should be refunded in full after deducting not more than Rs 1,000 as processing fee, ” the guidelines state.
When Will Final-Year Examinations Be Conducted?
As per the guidelines, the final-year examinations will have to be compulsorily conducted in offline/online/blended mode no later than 31 August 2021 in adherence to COVID guidelines.
But for intermediate semesters, the assessment will be based on internal evaluation and performance of previous semesters.
When Will College Classes Begin?
For students who are in the intermediate semesters/years in Undergraduate and Postgraduate courses, the UGC has asked colleges to start their academic session in online/offline/blended model as early as possible.
For first year/semester students, the academic session 2021-2022 shall commence by 1 October latest.
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