Testing time for students in the andhra pradesh State

Schedule of common entrance tests may go haywire if agitations continue

Career of students taking national level entrance may be hit if present crisis continues

Extended academic year may hamper prospects of those planning to pursue higher studies abroad

---

HYDERABAD: If the ongoing agitation and closure of colleges continue for another two weeks, the schedule of various Common Entrance Tests (CETs) in the State might go haywire.

This is the period when officials are generally busy chalking out dates for CETs for the next academic year but nothing has moved since the unrest on campuses started 15 days ago and subsequent closure of colleges. Last year, CET dates were announced on January 7.

“As of now there is not much of a problem but if disturbances continue for another two weeks the schedules might get affected,” admitted K.C. Reddy, Chairman, A.P. State Council for Higher Education.

Keeping the State schedules flexible is in the hands of officials here but those taking national level entrance tests like IIT-JEE, AIEEE, JIPMER and related tests will be severely hit as they can’t be postponed.

“Our students have been doing exceptionally well in national level tests all these years. But given the present situation they will lose out,” an official reminded. “Extending dates of CETs may not always be possible as we have to consider that they don’t clash with numerous other entrance tests in the country taken by our students particularly the medical tests,” he pointed out.

If students in Telangana area suffered in the first phase, now it’s the turn of students from Coastal and Rayalaseema regions. Traditionally students in Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Vishakhapatnam, Guntur, Nellore and Tirupati cities have been bagging top ranks in the national tests and unfortunately all these cities are now hit with agitations and institutions closed for the last 15 days.

Parents worried

Even if situation changes after a week or 10 days it would take some time for students to get into the groove. Parents too are worried over the deteriorating situation across the State given the strong views taken by political leaders of all the regions.

“Instead of cooling tempers they are adding fuel to fire,” a worried parent of an engineering student said. Engineering students who have planned higher education abroad are particularly worried.

Delayed examinations will not only extend academic year but also send wrong signals to universities abroad which are particular about such issues.

“We will lose out on good universities and have to search for mediocre ones,” says Nitish Reddy, a final year B.Tech student.