Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray writes to PM urging cancellation of professional exams

Mumbai: Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention to ensure that the national apex bodies for professional courses be asked to cancel their final year/semester exams for this year due to the rising Covid numbers in the state.

This comes at a time when Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has insisted that these examinations be held.

In his letter, Uddhav has pointed out that the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Council of Architecture (COA), Pharmacy Council of India (PCI), Bar Council of India (BCI), National Council for Teachers Education (NCTE) and National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology should cancel their exams for students enrolled for their courses.


When the state initially announced that it planned to scrap the examinations for non-professional courses, Koshyari had objected to it and said that he, as chancellor of the university, has powers and insisted that the examinations would be held.

The state has now taken the argument that it has powers to cancel the exams due to the Covid19 situation.

While the Maharashtra BJP had supported the Governor’s decision to hold the exams, it remains to be seen how the Centre acts on Thackeray’s letter asking for exams of even professional courses to be not held in the state.

Thackeray, in his letter to the PM, has pointed out that the numbers of Covid-infected people in the state is still high. The numbers are increasing in all the major cities of Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai (Mumbai Metropolitan Region), etc.