Maharashtra higher and technical education minister Uday Samant on Tuesday urged the University Grants Commission UGC via a letter to cancel the final year exams of undergraduate UG and post-graduate PG courses this year, taking into consideration the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Considering the COVID-19 pandemic in Maharashtra, as per recommendations of the state-level committee, conducting exams for final year students of UG and PG courses in July 2020 seems difficult. Considering the feasibility of conducting exams of approximately 8 to 10 lakh students by maintaining all safety protocols seems very challenging. Hence I am of the opinion that the final exams should not be conducted this year and I hereby request you to consider the option of promoting students without conducting exams of last year for UG, PG and grade them as per UGC guidelines," states Samant-s letter.