The hue and cry over postponement of competitive examinations

 

There has been a lot of debate going on, on whether NEET/JEE be held or not. The Government has taken a stand and the Supreme Court has validated the same. However, there is still an air of uncertainty over the whole issue as the general public is yet to come to terms with it and accept the fact that this is indeed a way forward. Not that the general perception is skewed or there is dissent of any manner: the worry and apprehensions are valid on both the sides. Each perspective seems to be justified if seen through that angle.

There are three kinds of arguments being put forth.

1.      The exams should be held at the scheduled time.

2.      The exams should be postponed.

3.      The whole academic year should be scrapped and this be made a zero year.

It's a fair point to say that exams shouldn't be held taking into account the current COVID-19 scenario. Safety is of paramount importance. Also, from the point of view of organizers, there are far more greater challenges to be met in addition to adhering to the safety measures. One of my acquaintances, in charge of a state level examination center, says that arranging for invigilators, managing logistics and accommodations is a huge challenge. The problems are further compounded with the fact that there is hardly any attendance in the exam halls. They are deputing faculty members and researchers as invigilators in practically empty examination halls.

The argument is, that a lot of resources and money is going waste with these pointless exercises. But those in education sector also understand the repercussions of dropping a year and they just want to postpone the exams by a few months.

But there is also a section of students, parents and teachers who want to stick to the stipulated time frame and move on with the examinations. To their credit, they are willing to fight their way forward, without compromising on the norms of social distancing. They too have a valid argument. COVID-19 doesn’t seem to be going away in the near future but their careers are already endangered.

A large section of the public is taking a myopic view of the whole matter, concentrating only on the risk associated with holding the examination during the pandemic, without realizing the far reaching consequences of the same. For example, let's assume, exams are scrapped for batch X.

With whom does a student of batch X compete the next year?

Batch X+1 freshers, other students from his own batch, Batch X-1 dropouts and those from Batch X-1 who had failed to clear the exam earlier.

Now, let’s have a look at the Outcome, keeping in mind a few constants, like-

Number of seats remains the same, reservation categories remain in place and donations increase. Then, the probability of admission drops down further. Therefore, in nutshell, we are depriving a deserving candidate of opportunities. Institutes and colleges neither have the necessary infrastructure nor the resources to increase the intake of students next year. Moreover, they are not even equipped to handle a further shortened academic year, which has already lost a full term.

If commuting and social distancing is facilitated, a genuine aspirant will get a fair chance this year.
But, if the whole exam is scrapped, his/ her journey becomes even more difficult than it has ever been. So, in my humble opinion, instead of scrapping it entirely or jeopardizing the next academic year in terms of time frame, why not keep it on the students' discretion whether they want to appear for the exams and let the aspirants take a chance with their lives and careers as they deem fit?

For once, let’s look out for a brighter future for the next generation than be entrapped in pessimism. If we put to use, our minds and resources efficiently, a smooth conduct and a positive outcome is a real possibility.

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