New calendar released for UG, PG 1st year; full refund on admission cancellation: Education Ministry

The Education Ministry on Tuesday released a new calendar for the 2020-21 academic year. The ministry has approved the UGC guidelines on the calendar for the UG and PG first-year students. 

Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank made the announcement on Twitter. Classes for students will begin on November 1st as per the new calendar.

New academic calendar for 2020-2021

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown, there has been a delay in the start of the academic year. However, after much confusion and uncertainty, the ministry announced a new calendar. 

The education minister said on Twitter, "In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission has accepted the Report of the Committee and approved the @ugc_india Guidelines on Academic Calendar for the First Year of Under-Graduate and Post-Graduate Students of the Universities for the Session 2020-21."

This time classes will begin on November 1st, with the semester break commencing at the end of March. 

It will surely take students time to adjust to the new calendar. 

The ministry has also guaranteed a full refund on cancellation of admission to students in 2020-21. The minister wrote, "To avoid financial hardship being faced by the parents due to lockdown and related factors, a full refund of fees will be made on account of all cancellation of admissions/ migration of students, up to 30.11.2020, for this very session as a special case."

The ministry has now advised all colleges to hold classes six days a week to make up for the lost hours and learning.