UGC panel suggests new semester from September, instead of July

New Delhi : With coronavirus pandemic disrupting the whole education system, the UGC has sent a recommendation to the government to start the new semester in colleges and universities from September, instead of regular July.

Notably, the University Grants Commission (UGC) had constituted two committees to look into the issues of academic loss and online classes in the wake of the nationwide lockdown, announced to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

One of the panels, led by Haryana University vice-chancellor RC Kuhad, was formed to find out how to conduct exams in universities amid the lockdown and work on an alternate academic calendar. The other panel, led by Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) V-C Nageshwara Rao, was set up to suggest measures to improve online education.

Both the panels submitted their reports to the government on Friday.

The two reports will now be scrutinized by the Ministry of Human Resources and Development (MHRD), the development on this will be officially announced next week.

Notably, educational institutes across the country have been shut since March 16 as one of the measures to contain the COVID-19 outbreak.