Advantages Of Conducting The Exam As Scheduled
The only benefit of this is that, as students, our preparation will end with this exam conducted. For the government, this will be a relief because a huge amount of students will pay at the time of admission. For the multi-billion education industry, they will get their fuel as a new academic session will start. But it’s worth noting how, even in the pandemic, they are in a huge rush that they cannot afford a few months delay.
Disadvantages Of Conducting The Exam As Scheduled
- We will be risking millions of lives. Any sensible human wouldn’t let COVID-19 spread mindlessly.
- There are floods in Eastern and North East states. Even in normal conditions, the flood would have been enough to postpone exams in flood-affected areas and it has happened many times before.
- We have seen the ground reality in many of the exams conducted in the last few weeks and how failed Standard Operating Procedures might lead to hundreds of infections among students.
- Public Transport whether local or interstate is shut down.
- Lockdown is still imposed in many states like in mine in Bihar.
In this scenario, the exam will not be a fair competition, especially in JEE Mains as due to the mental and social health of the students and a lot of insecurity in their mind, they might not give exams. Many students will not be able to give the exam and there will be fewer participants. There might be higher chances of error in rank equating with percentile formula (more number of shifts and fewer participants). There are a few people in favour of conducting exams, arguing that life must go on; we are going outside, so what is the big deal; SOP can work.
In my opinion, those people/students must know about the contagious virus, deaths, consequences, effected families due to COVID and should imagine how conducting exams can lead devastation of hundreds of families. Life is moving on. Considering it as a new normal does not mean it is the new natural. The problem with us is we do not want to believe something until it happens to us. Yet we have seen failed SOP in KCET, UP B.Ed. exams and so many state exams that lead to some deaths, hundreds of COVID +infection and the continuing spread of the virus. Protestors are not only students, from 100%ile scorers of JEE, past year toppers, top online educator of the country, everyone who knows this unprecedented situation well and who cares for every student’s life, keeping his ego and personal benefits aside, they are also continuously raising their voice to postpone.
It is ridiculous to say that only the ill-prepared students are protesting.
Role Of The Government: What Should Have Been Done?
The government has to understand the harshness of the pandemic and make decisions favourable to the safety of the students. There are brilliant people sitting on these chairs making policies. During the four-five months of lockdown, the government should have found a different way of taking the exam and could have proceeded with that approach. The government should have figured out an alternative by now.
Most students only fear that their academic year will be ruined due to the postponement of examination. In such a situation, the government should stand with the students and assure them that won’t happen and academic changes will be made for them, whether its syllabus changes like CBSE did so that the student can graduate in 8 semesters in 3.5 years only, or the government can follow some foreign models of awarding 4-year graduation degree in 3 years or more, based on performance and competition of credit courses.
Role Of The Government: What Is The Govt. Doing In Reality
The definition of democracy (for the people, by the people, to the people) is a myth.
The examination was postponed twice due to Covid-19’s spread and now when the COVID pandemic is at its peak, and the number of cases are crossing 70 thousand daily, exams are being conducted. Previously when the postponement was announced, we were aware that the cases are increasing and even until September, the examination cannot be conducted in a traditional way, yet the government has not taken any appropriate measures. Why is the government so hell-bent on conducting exams?
The pressure of corporate lobby and education mafia is not more important than the life of young students of the country but still, the government is ignoring the demands(needs) of more than 2 million students. This puts our futures at stake. The government will have to postpone. My request to the government is to minimize the risk of living and save the futures of as many students as possible.