The Union Home Ministry on Monday allowed universities and institutions to conduct final year examinations. The exams have been pending since March due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown in the country.

The home ministry has written to the higher education secretary about the same. “The final term examinations are to be compulsorily conducted as per the UGC [University Grants Commission] guidelines on examinations and academic calendar for the universities; and as per the Standard Operating Procedure approved by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare,” a press release by the ministry said.

After this, Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal “Nishank” said the UGC has revisited its earlier guidelines for exams. The new guidelines state that exams in universities should be conducted by September-end. It added that exams can be held online and offline or a mix of both mediums. In case a student cannot appear in September, provisions will be made so she can take the exams later.

Several states have already cancelled their college and university examinations. This includes Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Odisha, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu has constituted an 11-member committee to recommend a decision.

On June 24, the HRD minister said that he had advised UGC to review its earlier guidelines. “The foundation for revisited guidelines shall be health and safety of students, teachers and staff,” he tweeted.

UGC regulates 945 universities across the country, including 412 state universities and 53 central universities. All educational institutions have been closed since March, although many have started online classes.