Class 12 Re-Exam Date Clashes With Kerala Engineering Entrance Tentative Date, Will Mess Up Preparation

Class 12 science students who have opted for Economics may be affected by the re-examination scheduled to take place on April 25th, as the date clashes with the Kerala Engineering Entrance Exam. 

The Kerala Engineering Entrance Exam is scheduled to be held on April 24 and April 25 this year, on the same day as Class 12 Economics paper.  Since admit cards have not been distributed to eligible candidates so far, it is likely that the dates be rescheduled to accommodate the date of re-examination.  Mainly, students with Physics, Chemistry, Maths, and Biology as preferred subjects are eligible for entrance exams for engineering. 

Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor, had raised the issue of clash of dates in a tweet today. 

The Kerala Engineering Entrance Exam or KEAM is only one of the many undergraduate entrance exams students from across the country have been preparing for for months. The structure of these examinations, the study material, and preparation is radically different from the CBSE syllabus for higher studies. For an already stressed 17-year-old who is on his way to gain one spot in the competitive examinations, a re-exam right on the verge of an UG entrance exam cannot be seen just as collateral damage by the HRD ministry.

The IP university Common Entrance Test for several courses also begins from April 10, and lasts till after May 30th.  One of the most competitive undergraduate entrance examinations, lakhs of students apply for IPU CET where only thousands get in. 

The centre for examination is restricted to only a few states, and aspiring students from outside the state come with their parents and guardians to appear for it. If the exam date clashes or even comes close to April 25th- the travel plans will get disrupted, not to forget the overburdened student who has to prepare for two different examinations in a short amount of time, the parent who would probably need to shell out more on travel expenses, and the psychological trouble which, doctors have said, can lead to nervous breakdowns, something the Prime Minister's book 'Exam (not re-exam) warriors' dealt with.

The National Defence Academy entrance exam is scheduled to be held on April 29, 2018.  National Aptitude Test- an architecture entrance exam for admission to B Arch courses (NATA) is also scheduled to be held on the same day- April 29. The All India Law Entrance Test, one of the toughest entrance exams for law in the country, is scheduled to be held on May 6, 2018. 

Eligibility criteria under NATA requires Mathematics as one of the compulsory subjects, while there is no such eligibility criteria for AILET. 

Science students with Economics as a sixth subject may also be affected by the re-examination date. The medical examination, NEET is on May 6, barely 9 days after the Economics re-examination by CBSE. NEET is one of the most difficult and sought-after entrance exam for graduate medical course that requires a thorough preparation. With only a gap of 9 days, an aspiring student can only do so much to achieve the desired target. 

Right now, students are in a flux. The question is not just about a particular examination being conducted again. Studies after class 12th are competitive as it is, with many aspiring students vying for admissions in undergraduate courses in government colleges and institutions, or autonomous bodies. Private colleges usually charge exceptionally high fees, which many cannot afford. But government colleges have their own challenges. 

With sometimes an almost unrealistically high cut-off demand from Delhi University and other colleges, and extremely competitive entrance examinations, students usually opt  keeping their options open, hoping at least one would prove favourable. 

'It's impossible to rely solely on your (12th class) score. I want to get into Delhi University, but I can't be sure of it. So, to be on the safer side, I applied for a BA course in IP university,and a hotel management course. It's hard as it is, just appearing for so many exams in a short amount of time. With the unforeseen re-examination of Economics, I don't understand how it will be managed,' says Shruti, who has herself enrolled in a crash course to appear for CLAT law exam in May this year. 

It is, thus, not only a matter of psychological relaxation after appearing for last school exam, an unforeseen re-examination at the same time as other examinations upset the whole education system, broadly speaking. Perhaps what the HRD ministry did not take into consideration while deciding on the dates for re-examination is the dilemma it will cause to aspiring students, their families, and colleges and institutes who have already decided on the date and format of their question papers by now, and who will have to undergo significant last-minute changes to accommodate the re-exam, thanks to the callousness of the CBSE.