JEE Main, NEET: ‘Students need clarity on exam timetable to continue focused studies’

Anxiety is at its peak among lakhs of students and aspirants, mainly due to uncertainty over the conduct of examinations and schedule, which were lined up over the next two months.

For the past one week, announcements of a number of exams — boards and entrance tests, have trickled in — either of their postponement or cancellation this year.

So far, IIT-JEE (April) and NEET exams have been put off for an indefinite period.

On Tuesday, the Maharashtra government called off the SSC exams. Earlier, the postponement of the HSC board examinations was declared. NEET entrance, originally scheduled on April 18, was cancelled and a fresh date is awaited. IIT-JEE (Mains), which was to be conducted between April 27 and 30, is now postponed. CSIR-NET and UGC NET exam, scheduled between May 2 and 17, too, are indefinitely postponed.

This has left the student community in a limbo as many have complained about difficulty in focusing on preparations and inability to decide on their future study and career choices.

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Lack of clarity about the examination timeline seems to be the biggest concern among students and tutors.

With Covid-19 cases rising every day, it is unlikely that these national-level examinations can be conducted anytime soon. The only silver lining, some say, is the additional time students now have to continue preparations.

“Though students could feel irritated now, on the bright side, they have additional time to study,” said Durgesh Mangeshkar, director, IITian’s Prashikshan Kendra

Offering a similar view, Lalit Kumar, founder and director, Prime Academy, said, “Students must prepare a list of topics, based on their importance, and use this golden opportunity to better prepare.” “Students must remain focused on studies despite the rescheduled exam dates,” added Kumar.

Sumita Ravi, parent of a class XII student in the city, said examinations must not be conducted before the situation improves. “Students must at least be told they won’t have to take an exam before date…” she said.

Pranav Kumar Jha, an NET aspirant, said the postponement will give him more time to focus on preparations. He is a postgraduate in chemistry from Nagpur.

“Every exam requires a designated method of preparation. If all agencies and institutions conducting examinations, be it the boards or entrances, can jointly come up with comprehensive details offering a timeline of the examinations, it will help students accordingly plan their studies in the coming weeks,” said Mangeshkar.

Though there is no decision yet on the upcoming JEE exams scheduled in May, tutors suggest that the remaining exams be combined.