As India grapples with the second wave of COVID-19, exams that were supposed to be conducted in the coming months have been either cancelled or postponed. The UGC-NET exam is one of those exams that has been postponed indefinitely. While this seemed inevitable, given the rising number of COVID-19 cases, aspirants have a mixed bag of feelings — while some wanted the intake to be increased others suggested that the student should be notified at least a 45 days ahead of the exam.
This NET exam that was supposed to be held for the December 2020 cycle, stood postponed due to COVID and was scheduled to be held from May 2 to May 17. The NTA announced last week that it will let the students know 15 days before the exam, whenever it is held. But this, the aspiring researchers say, will be detrimental for their careers. "Before the Coronavirus hit us, we had two exams for NET every year. Last year saw only one exam for NET. This reduces our chances of clearing the exams," said Palash Mukherjee, a student of Zoology who was set to Write NET in the pursuit of a Junior Research Fellowship this year.
Sourav Das, who is a student of Bengali, said that it would at least be of some relief if the number of fellowships and Assistant Professor posts were increased because there will probably be only one exam this year as well. "Since the chances of the students getting the fellowships have been halved it would make sense to increase the number of fellowships or posts offered. It has been a very stressful year and a postponement this will only add to the stress as the number of attempts possible has been reduced by 50 per cent," he said.
But it's not been such a reason for worry for everyone. Nilanjana Bhattacharya, a postgraduate of English has recently started preparing for the NET exam and a postponement is a boon for her. "I wanted to become a teacher so I was applying for those exams. I started preparing for NET only recently. The postponement will help me prepare better and for a longer time," said Nilanjana. But her sister, Suchetana, who is a student of History at the University of Hyderabad, said that this move will not only be an impediment but also affect her performance when the exam is finally conducted. "There is uncertainty about when the exam will be conducted. They have said that we will be informed 15 in advance. But that is not enough time. The NTA should notify about the exam at least a month and a half ahead so that we have enough time to prepare properly. This is not the only exam we are preparing for and we need that time to get back in the groove," she added.
