Mumbai: Maharashtra’s Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil on Wednesday urged all non-agricultural universities in the state to adopt a uniform approach in implementing the ‘Carry On’ scheme, ensuring students receive another opportunity to appear for examinations. He emphasised that universities should take a positive decision in favour of student welfare and maintain consistency across institutions.

Patil made these remarks during an online meeting with vice-chancellors of non-agricultural universities, held at the state secretariat. The meeting was attended by vice-chancellors, registrars, Additional Chief Secretary of the Higher and Technical Education Department B. Venugopal Reddy, Deputy Secretaries Ashok Mande and Pratap Lubal, Director of Technical Education Dr Vinod Mohitkar, Director of Higher Education Dr Shailendra Deolankar, and other officials from various universities.

Highlighting the challenges faced by students due to academic and personal difficulties, Patil noted that the ‘Carry On’ scheme plays a crucial role in allowing them to continue their education without disruption. He stressed the need for universities to implement the scheme in a coordinated manner, ensuring that students do not lose an academic year. He further directed universities to establish a time-bound framework for execution, enabling students to benefit from the scheme this year itself.

The development comes after thousands of students of Mumbai University (MU) staged several rounds of protests at the Kalina campus demanding for ‘Carry On’ policy to be implemented in MU. In January, the Free Press Journal had reported about the protests by the engineering students of the university, who claimed that results, delayed by seven to eight months, declared many students unsuccessful, sparking widespread protests as students find themselves unprepared for the upcoming fourth-semester examinations. The students had demanded for ‘Carry On’ policy to be implemented in MU.

The students pointed out a significant discrepancy between MU and other universities across Maharashtra, all of which have adopted the Allowed to Keep Terms (ATKT) system, allowing students to continue their studies while clearing backlogs. After the protests, students had met with the higher education minister, who had proposed finding a solution to the crisis.