India's exams amid COVID-19: Calls for postponement, stressed infra & disrupting semesters

As calls for JEE and NEET exams to be postponed grow louder, UPSC aspirants to have raised ir voices seeking to postpone ir entrance exams scheduled on October 4 - suggesting its merger with 2021 3-level UPSC exams. Several politicians like - Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal, Asaduddin Owaisi, Subramanian Swamy have urged Centre to postpone exams amid ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. With Supreme Court dismissing all pleas seeking postponing exams, Centre has confirmed that NEET exam will be held on September 13 while JEE (Main) too will be held from 1 September to 6 September 2020.

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Centre's stance on exams

National Testing ncy (NTA) has already released admit cards for JEE (Main) and will soon NEET exam will be released shortly. NTA has also detailed guidelines for aspirants appearing for exam amid COVID -  staggered time slots, temperature scans, separate isolation rooms for students displaying COVID-19 symptoms. While NTA has stated re will be body frisking, candidates are allowed to only carry a mask, gloves, transparent water bottle, 50 ml hand sanitizer and exam related documents. Elaborate arrangements have been made to sanitise centres before and after conduct of examinations, give fresh masks and (on demand) hand gloves in view of COVID-19 pandemic.

Supreme Court's order stated, “We find that re is absolutely justification in prayer made for postponement of examination in question relating to NEET UG-2020 as well as JEE (Main) April 2020. In our opinion, though re is a pandemic situation, ultimately life has to go and career of students cant be put on peril for long and full academic year cant be wasted,” which has been quoted by NTA in ir decision.

Centre confirms NEET exam to be held on September 13; admit cards to be distributed soon

Why are students, activists, politicians seeking postponement?

Citing COVID-19 pandemic, floods in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, constricted travel amid lockdown in various states, students have sought to postpone exams. Several activists have highlighted undue stress thrust on students amid pandemic to appear for exams while Universities and schools remain shut as ordered by Centre. Apart from entrance exams like NEET and JEE, states like Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Delhi have opposed Centre's order to conduct Final Year exams by September. se governments have informed Supreme Court that it will be unable to conduct se exams amid ongoing pandemic. With Centre's push to conduct NEET/JEE Mains, se governments are w mulling as to how y will prepare to conduct se exams.

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Which exams are postponed, which are scheduled?

While all Universities, schools, colleges are shut till August 31 under 'Unlock 3', several entrance exams like - BITSAT 2020, AIAPGET 2020, MAT 2020, NCHM JEE 2020, ATMA 2020 most state CETs have been postponed, as per reports. Apart from college curriculum/entrance exams, several recruitment exams for ITBP, RBI, several state Public Service Commission, Delhi Higher Judicial Services, Staff Selection Commission too have been postponed. CBSE, ICSE, ISC and most state boards have cancelled Class X and Class XII exams, with a few exceptions like - Karnataka, Rajasthan conducting remaining exams. NEET and JEE (Mains) are scheduled in September, while UGC has told states to conduct final year exams too - online or offline - arguing cancelling will impact 'standards of higher education'.

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Disruption in academic calendar due to postponement?

While universities fret on additional burden to conduct exams with social distancing guidelines and more infrastructure, several academicians fear that postponing exams will burden next year's shortened academic calendar. Experts state while postponing exams for some time is acceptable, resulting in a delay in academic year's admission, it was t an ideal solution. Experts argue that professional courses like Engineering, medicine have several laboratory components which have to be conducted on campus in a timely fashion. By postponing exams and a truncated academic year - ideally starting by vember-December, academicians fear that y will t be able to man to conduct such classes.

or worry academicians feel is that online classes may t be able to substitute in-class lectures for key courses. Besides a delay in exams leading to cutting down a semester, institutes have expressed challenges y will face filling many reserved quotas in admission counselling process. Apart from se troubles, several experts have raised arguments on India's online teaching infrastructure t being uniform and robust - depriving several students of lower ecomic backgrounds from timely, quality education.