For everyone studying for a competitive exam, there are coaching classes, mock exams, and a series of strategies laid out right up until the night before the big day. However, this strategy got severely disrupted when the pandemic forced us to pause. "The government has announced that there will be a fixed calendar for JEE (Joint Entrance Examination), NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) and CUET (Central Universities Entrance Test) from 2023 onwards, but they cannot rush it like this. A slowed and prolonged process back to normal would have helped everyone," says career counsellor Jayprakash Gandhi when asked about the dates for JEE Mains 2023.
On December 16, when the National Testing Agency (NTA) declared the dates for JEE Mains 2023, students quickly demanded its postponement. Unquestionably, there has been a disruption in the academic calendar since the pandemic, leading to requests for extensions, postponements, and additional attempts. We speak with students and experts to try and decipher all that has gone wrong with the academic schedule and what can be done to set it right.
The pause and the rat race
The pandemic thrust the world into a forced vacation that drove everyone to step away from everyday life. Along with it, the rat race of competitive exams halted and interrupted the entire academic cycle. "Entire academic process has been hampered, and students sitting for their twelfth boards in 2023 have suffered the most," says Mr Gandhi, adding, "Now there will only be a gap of six months between two batches, and colleges will have two first-year batches. This drastic shift will require the colleges to equip themselves with more staff and a different schedule. In addition to that, companies will not come every six months for placement." The 2023 Class XII batch is the same set of students appearing for JEE Mains 2023, caught between their boards and JEE.
The plan and the disruption of the plan
Sudhanshu Sardul, who appeared for JEE last year, took a drop for a better stream despite finding a place at the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Patna. "The counselling ended in November, and since the NTA had not announced any dates up until that point, we were certain we had time till April. Our syllabus is not complete, and I also let go of a seat at NIT Patna believing I had time in hand to prepare for the next attempt," explains Sudhanshu, who now has less than a month to appear for the first session of JEE Mains. The students have now been requesting a postponement, and the All India Students' Association (AISU) also submitted a representation to Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan yesterday, December 20.
Exams and the postponing
Since the pandemic, such requests for postponement have been commonplace. Another JEE candidate, Chinmay Dhongd, believes that the lack of dialogue between the students and the officials is to blame for such disagreements. He says, "It makes no sense to release the dates a month before the exam. The authorities take no initiative to discuss their plan with all the stakeholders and take decisions as per their whims."
Pradeep Rawat, president of the Gurgaon Parents' Association, calls the pandemic an extraordinary and unforeseen situation that merits sympathy. "The shift to online education and the tragic consequences of COVID-19 demands that we are sympathetic towards children. They are already under a lot of stress," adds Mr Rawat.
In concurrence with Mr Rawat's words, lawyer Anubha Shrivastava reminds us of the numerous suicide cases of students that plagued this nation recently. She adds, "With extra staff, they could have shortened the counselling sessions and resumed the regular academic schedule. Nevertheless, the counselling session continued for six months redundantly, and now they have announced the dates at the last minute. This chaos is due to mismanagement."
Extensions, extra attempts and postponement
Apart from the postponement of dates, the terminal batches of PhD and MPhil are asking for extensions. Additionally, job seekers are also requesting extra attempts. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) candidates from 2020 to 2022 are staging protests demanding additional attempts. Again, yesterday, December 19, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) were protesting in front of the University Grants Commission (UGC) office to call for an extension for PhD and MPhil students. Anubha Shrivastava says, "From KG to UG, everyone suffered during the pandemic. It is no surprise that the education sector has spiralled into this disarray. Students will take time to cope."
What is the resolution?
When asked about the resolution to the issue, the NEET counsellor, Gaurav Tyagi, says, "The academic schedule could have been back to normal if not for the lackadaisical behaviour of officials. They did not regularise the dates earlier." Anubha Shrivastava also echoes Mr Tyagi's words and blames the prolonged disruption of the academic cycle on the mismanagement of the authorities. The director of the Spark Academy, Yesasvi Santosh, also agrees with Mr Tyagi and Ms Shrivastava but concludes by urging the students to maintain their focus when he says, "Students have to cut the noise and continue preparing. It is a competition, and everyone is on the same boat."
