The decision to hold undergraduate and postgraduate examinations of the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) was taken only after detailed discussions with apex medical bodies, State Medical Education Minister Amit Deshmukh said on Friday.
He said a detailed programme would be issued soon and assured that adequate arrangements would be made in every district to ensure that students do not have to travel far to appear for these exams.
Mr. Deshmukh, who was in Pune to review the COVID-19 situation, said he met with Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, who is the Chancellor of all universities in the State, after the Nashik-based MUHS submitted a detailed report on the feasibility of holding the exams after July 15.
Incidentally, the State government’s Technical and Higher Education Ministry had earlier decided not to conduct the exams.
Amit Deshmukh
Mr. Deshmukh, however, clarified that there was no hitch in the functioning of the government despite the contradictory stance on the conduct of the exams by the two ministries.
“The curricula of both ministries — Technical and Higher Education, and Medical Education — are different as are their central councils and universities. They are following their own guidelines, while we are adhering to ours,” Mr. Deshmukh said.
In an earlier letter to the Governor, Mr. Deshmukh had said that MUHS has unanimously decided to conduct all its summer examinations as per three alternative plans, depending on the situation, from July 15.
The theory examinations would be held between July 15 and August 15 in a staggered manner if the situation was conducive. In case exams cannot be held as per the first plan, they would be conducted between August 16 and September 15.
If the exams cannot be held as per above plans, the MUSH will take guidance from the Central Medical Council on how to conduct the examinations, including through the online medium.
Meanwhile, Mr. Deshmukh, who met with senior district administration authorities, said there was a decline in the number of active positive cases in Mumbai, Pune and other cities.
He said while the situation in Pune was under control, Mumbai, despite rising cases, was faring better than most other cities in the world.
“Around 80 labs are operating in the State for testing samples at present. More labs are being added. We are trying to standardise protocols and SOPs (standard operating procedures) across hospitals in the State,” he said, adding that he was of the opinion that some form of rating should be given to each hospital so that patients are aware if their infrastructure was up to the mark or not.
