Reduced academic year, cancelled leaves, holidays in UGC recovery guidelines
However, even if the number of lectures needs to be reduced, the entire syllabus must be completed;
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has suggested reducing the academic year and cancelling different leaves and holidays in a recovery guideline amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The six-point guideline, signed by UGC Secretary Ferdous Zaman, was sent to the vice-chancellors and registrars of all public universities today.
In a meeting on reopening public universities with the Ministry of Education, UGC and the vice-chancellors held on 31 May, a decision was made to formulate a recovery guidelines according to the capacity and current situation of universities.
Education Minister Dipu Moni presided over the virtual meeting where Deputy Minister of Education Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury and UGC Chairman Prof Dr Kazi Shahidullah were present.
The recovery guidelines by UGC are -
1. The duration of the conventional / existing academic year of the universities should be significantly and acceptably reduced;
2. Various holidays (summer vacation, winter vacation, festival vacation) may be reduced or cancelled to complete the final examination / class / class test / assignment / quiz of all subjects including practical subjects in semester / term / annual system;
3. The duration of each class (theoretical and practical) will remain the same as at present, i.e. lecture time cannot be reduced. However, even if the number of lectures needs to be reduced, the entire syllabus must be completed;
4. In the interest of reducing the time in the academic calendar, issues like class test / quiz / midterm exam / assignment / term paper can be reconsidered;
5. In case of the final examination, preparation leave, the leave between the examinations, and inter semester / term / year break can be reduced;
6. Above all, after making a recovery plan and getting it approved by the Academic Council, the approved academic calendar should be informed to the students at the beginning of the academic year which should be published on the university website and all necessary steps should be taken to implement the prepared academic calendar.