Aspirants say postponing of JEE, NEET could affect their performance

Mangaluru: Mohammed Arif, a National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) aspirant who took a year’s break to reappear for medical entrance tests is worried that further postponing of tests is likely to affect his performance.
“I have wasted a year for this test, to achieve my dream of getting into a medical college. Further postponing it will make me lose focus on studies, which is likely to affect my grades. My target is to bag a state rank between 400 to 500 in the NEET,” says a worried Arif.
The MHRD postponing the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and NEET to September from July, has worried aspirants. Students expressed that it is affecting their enthusiasm and concentration, which is likely to affect their performance. Apart from new candidates, there are some aspirants who are trying their luck for the second or third time.
Like Arif, the anxiety levels of many aspirants who are appearing for the NEET and JEE Main as well as Advanced are increasing every day due to uncertainty and repeated postponements. “I have studied enough, and carry out revision every day. The test has been postponed for four months since May. I want to take the test by September, and can’t study any more after that,” says Dhanush Shetty, a NEET aspirant, who is preparing from home since the lockdown was lifted.
Manjeshwar P, a resident of Bengaluru, completed his PU in Mangaluru. He says, “I have returned home after the lockdown was lifted. However, I have registered for both CET and NEET at a centre in Mangaluru. Due to the pandemic, it is risky to travel. I am praying every day that there will be no lockdown at the time when the tests are held.”
Ushaprabha N Nayak, vice-chairperson, Expert Group of Institutions, feels that postponing of entrance tests has an advantage for aspirants, as they have ample time for preparation. “If entrance tests are postponed, it gives ample time to prepare for aspirants from Karnataka. In north India many aspirants take a year’s break after their plus-two, exclusively to prepare for entrance tests, but in Karnataka students prepare parallelly along with regular PU classes. However, it’s better for entrance tests to finish on time, as it effects the enthusiasm of students otherwise,” stresses Ushaprabha.