Universities Can Only Decide About Online Exam: Shafqat Mahmood

On Monday, the federal minister for education Shafqat Mahmood responded to the student’s protest, against the on-campus exams in Lahore by saying that universities have full rights of decision making in the matter of whether to take online exams or in-person exams.

Shafqat Mahmood responded to the protest, by posting a series of messages on the micro-blogging media platform Twitter, he said that few students are demanding their exams to be held online as they have been taking the classes online.

Some university students are demanding that their exams should be online as they have been studying online. This is a decision for the universities to make but I have asked HEC to consult VCs and see if it is possible given special circumstances this year. 1/2 — Shafqat Mahmood (@Shafqat_Mahmood) January 25, 2021

The exact wordings of his tweet said, “This is a decision for the universities to make but I have asked HEC to consult VCs and see if it is possible given special circumstances this year.”

He also said that the decision by the universities on the conduction of exams should come after the thorough assessment of their technical abilities.

2/2 Universities should also asses whether they have the technical ability to conduct exam for ALL students. No one can be left behind. It is also necessary to ensure that online exam system is not misused to get easy grades. Preparing good question papers/ assessment is imp — Shafqat Mahmood (@Shafqat_Mahmood) January 25, 2021

“No one can be left behind. It is also necessary to ensure that the online exam system is not misused to get easy grades,” said Shafqat while stressing the need for quality exam papers and assessments to ensure the quality of higher education.

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