Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Aaditya Thackeray slammed the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) after the UGC announced that the final year examinations in the universities will be held in September. He called the Ministry`s decision `absolutely absurd and probably from an alternate universe.` Taking to Twitter, Thackeray said, "The decision of the HRD Ministry of Union Govt, and the UGC is absolutely absurd and probably from an alternate universe. I urge UGC to not make this a silly issue of egos and realise that lakhs of lives of students, teachers, non-teaching staff are at stake."

He cornered the Ministry and UGC for "not realising the growing number of COVID-19 cases in the country.

"Unless the HRD Ministry and UGC take responsibility for the health of each student appearing for exams, one wonders what is the guarantee apart from just that the ministry and UGC don`t realise the growing number of cases in India," Thackeray said. "Mental stress, incomplete syllabus, the highest risk to students and teachers, but while the top universities of the world skip exams, our HRD Ministry and UGC enforce exams on students. Nowhere in the world is academic excellence dependent on 1 exam, other than our HRD and UGC," added Thackeray in his tweet.

Giving the example, Thackeray said, "The MVA (Maha Vikas Aghadi) has decided a formula based on being fair and just -- students to be passed on the aggregate of their past performance in past semesters, and those still feeling that they must do more can always appear for exams, by their own choice, when exams can be held."

Accusing the HRD Ministry of not working together with the state authorities, Maharashtra Cabinet Minister added, "It seems that while the entire country- Union Government, State Governments, ULBs and Panchayats are trying to manage COVID, reduce new cases and save lives, the HRD Ministry and UGC wants to just do the opposite."

The UGC on Monday issued revised guidelines on examinations and academic calendars for the universities in view of COVID-19 and announced that the final year examinations in the universities will be held in September.

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