Universities should not conduct exams amid pandemic, online tests 'discriminatory': Kapil Sibal
New Delhi: Universities should not conduct examinations in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and even holding online tests is not right as it is "discriminatory" towards poor students, former human resource development minister Kapil Sibal said on Sunday.
The senior Congress leader also said that with almost half the 2020-21 academic year of schools over without proper classes due to the COVID-19 spread, board examinations for Class 10 should not be held next year as it would burden the students unnecessarily.
"What has happened is that half the year has been lost and we don't know how long this pandemic will continue. There is no need for Class 10 board exams for a while for these two years -- this year and next year -- and then they could relook at this policy," Sibal told PTI in an interview.
Sibal, who as the HRD minister had spearheaded a reforms process in the education sector under which it was decided to abolish compulsory CBSE Board exams for Class 10, said it was a sensible policy to have been followed but when the NDA came to power they reversed that.
"Thank god they have listened to some sane advice and they have cancelled the board exams. Consider the impact it would have had, especially on the poor students who don't have access to any online facilities," said Sibal, who was the HRD Minister from May 2009-October 2012 in the UPA-II government.
His remarks come days after the remaining CBSE and ICSE board examinations for classes 10 and 12, scheduled to be held in July, were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Quite frankly even university exams should be postponed," Sibal said.
Till such time there is a pandemic, there should be no exams and holding online examinations will be "extremely discriminatory" because in a lot of places in India, in remote areas, there is no facility for online examinations and the poor will be discriminated against, he said.
"See you are creating an elitist culture where the advantage goes to the rich which have access to online facilities and to those institutions which are privileged to provide online facilities and online teaching," Sibal said.
"Why should you hold these exams in the midst of a pandemic. Many of them (students) have not got teaching materials even the specially-abled persons have not been fully provided teaching materials," he said.
Delhi University on Saturday postponed the online open book exams for final-year students, which were scheduled to begin from July 1, by 10 days "in view of the prevailing situation of COVID-19 pandemic".
Several other educational institutions, including Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), have decided to conduct online open book exams.
Asked if examinations are not held how university students will be promoted, Sibal said there were two issues -- those who are to be promoted from the first year to the second year as well as from second year to third year, and those in the third and final year.
Those going from first year to second year and those from second to third year must have appeared for semester exams during the period, so assessments can be made based on those results for them to be promoted to the next year and that should be provisional so that when full classes are held examinations can be conducted, Sibal said.
"But in the meantime, their promotional prospects should not be jeopardised. That takes care of 1st year to second year and second year to 3rd year," he said.
"Now you come to the university exams. Many students who come from far off places must have gone away from the hostels, how will they take part in online exams from those places. Many of those students are from neighbouring countries, how will they sit for these exams," Sibal asked.
Noting that in some states, the universities have said they will not hold exams, he suggested that what can be done is that final-year students could be given a provisional degree based on their past performance and they can sit for exams as and when they have the materials and the tenure of the teaching class has been completed as would have happened in a regular year.
"Some universities are doing that. I don't know why that is not being done in Delhi," he said.
Asked if the Centre should introduce a uniform policy for examinations in universities, Sibal said the problem is that universities are independent institutions and the government can't decide what they should do or not.
The universities have a level of autonomy, but they themselves should find innovative ways to deal with a situation rather than have an "elitist approach and say we have decided, this is what is going to happen and we are not going to see the situation on the ground".
Thrusting these decisions on poor students is very poor management of education, he said.
Universities and schools across the country have been closed since March 16 when the central government announced a countrywide classroom shutdown as one of the measures to contain the COVID-19 outbreak.
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
