In a move that has relieved over 6 lakh students, the National Testing Agency, on Sunday, announced the postponement of the April Session of the Joint Entrance Examinations (Main). The announcement was made following Union Cabinet Minister for Education, Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank’s advice, in light of the prevailing Covid-19 surge in the country. Originally scheduled to be held from 27th April to 30th April, the JEE (Main) will now be held on a fresh revised date, expected to be announced at least 15 days before the examinations.
Earlier, on 15th April, the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Post-Graduation (NEET PG) was also announced deferred by Union Cabinet Minister for Health, Dr Harsh Vardhan. The NEET-UG examinations, scheduled to start from the 1st of August are also likely to be postponed to September keeping in view the number of Covid cases that have crossed 14.8 million.
Following the Central Board of Secondary Education’s decision to postpone Class XII Board Exams and cancel the same for Class X, the Council for Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE) had also announced the postponement of the respective Board Exams on 16th April. For Class X students, the CBSE has decided to develop an ‘objective criterion on which basis their results will be declared whereas the CISCE has announced options for Class X students to either appear the Board Exams on a later date or choose to be promoted based on a similar ‘unbiased criterion’.
Similarly, several states, including Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Odisha have also postponed Board Exams for the session 2020-21, the latest addition being Uttarakhand. Many states have also ordered to close educational institutions and vacate hostels, which has the potential to lead to mass inter-state movement of students as well. On the other hand, some other states like Meghalaya have gone ahead with their scheduled dates, while the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) and states like West Bengal have not made any firm announcement yet.
Such postponements are likely to severely affect upcoming academic sessions and pose serious challenges to students’ futures. But keeping in mind the health and security of the students in this raging pandemic, the decisions have been largely welcomed. With India recording the biggest jump in Covid cases on Sunday when 2, 61,500 people tested positive, the number of active cases now stands at over 18 lakh.
Amidst all this, questions of concerned students are something that still awaits address. When and how will they be promoted to their next batches? Will the lack of uniformity in conducting examinations over the country, particularly noticed in the case of Class X Board Exams, not affect students’ futures adversely? How will the easy inter-state and inter-board migration of students be facilitated? These and many more questions are yet to be answered, making it more crucial for concerned authorities to consider platforms where students can have their queries cleared in open Q&A Sessions.
[author title=”Megha Satapathy” image=”http://goachronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/IMG_20210205_095950.jpg”]Intern, Goa Chronicle[/author]
DISCLAIMER: This article reflects author’s view point. Goa Chronicle may or may not subscribe to views of the author
