Those like private students who want to write Class 12 exams for better results are worried if they might miss a seat in college admissions. According to the recent announcement by Higher Education Minister K Ponmudy, the application process for admission into Arts, Science, and Engineering colleges will start from July 26.
However, Class 12 exams in the state have been scheduled from August 6 to 19 for those who are unhappy with the results published through the new method of evaluation. Among the people who will be taking the exam are more than 39,000 private candidates, nearly 2,000 absentees, students with arrears, and registered students who wish to retake their Class 12 exams.
"The government deciding to conduct exams much later after opening the college admissions is itself an irony. We were promised that we will be given a chance to write exams if we are not satisfied with our marks. But, what will be the use of it if top college seats get filled before we even get a chance to apply," a worried Class 12 student from Tambaram, P Saindhavi said. Parents said students will be taking optional exams to meet the cut-off, yet will be left only with tier two and tier three colleges. "The students who want to rewrite Class 12 exams might be 1 per cent, but education must be unbiased and provide equal opportunities to all. The government must reconsider its decision and invite applications for college admissions at a later date. Or, this will discourage a lot of top performers from writing the exams," one of the parents, L Bhargav, said.
Private students also feel that there is a common perception that they might not aim for top colleges. According to a private student, Lathika Rani, some of them give exams in private due to unavoidable conditions and this does not make them any less competitive to bag a seat in a top college.
The Class 12 supplementary exam will be conducted from August 6 to 19. Students not satisfied with the marks calculated can apply between July 23 to July 27. It is noteworthy that a student cannot seek to write one particular subject but will have to apply and appear for all subjects. Applications will be received at government examination service centres in all districts from 10 am to 5:45 pm on all days except Sunday. When contacted, a school education department official said the exam date was fixed after discussing with experts about the COVID situation.
