States cannot promote college students without final year exams: Supreme Court
New Delhi/IBNS: Amid the widespread protests against JEE Main and NEET, the Supreme Court on Friday said college students can't be promoted without the final year examinations.
The top court said the examinations must be held this year, though the states have been given a window to defer tests beyond Sept 30 due to the Coronavirus spread.
Several petitions including the one from Maharashtra Minister Aaditya Thackeray were filed in the top court seeking cancellation of the examinations due to the spread of the virus.
The top court has cleared that the internal assessment won't suffice for the students to get promoted to the next year.
University Grants Commission (UGC), which is the national education body, had said the final year examinations must be held by Sept 30.
The UGC during the court hearing said the states cannot give degrees to the students without examinations but are free to defer the dates.
"If states feel they cannot conduct exams by September 20, they can approach UGC for relief," said the judges as quoted by NDTV.
Meanwhile, several opposition parties are set to protest across the country on Friday demanding the postponement of JEE Main and NEET, amid the Covid-19 spread.
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