About 500 Kashmiri students missed Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) because the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) turned down J&K government’s request to set up an exam centre in Srinagar.
The exam was scheduled on February 2 and 3 but the Valley students couldn’t reach exam centres in Jammu due to closure of Jammu-Srinagar highway and cancellation of flights at Srinagar airport.
GATE is an All-India examination administered and conducted jointly by the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and seven Indian Institutes of Technology on behalf of the National Coordinating Board-GATE, Department of Education in the MHRD.
Sameer Ahmad, an aspirant from Pulwama, said he missed the exam scheduled on February 2, and appealed to the Governor to ask the authorities concerned for rescheduling the exams for Kashmir.
Greater Kashmir on January 10 reported about the persistent demand from aspirants to have a separate exam centre in Kashmir for GATE. Also, Kashmir divisional administration had conveyed to the chief secretary students’ request.
“We conveyed our request a month ago but the office of the chief secretary did nothing,” many aggrieved aspirants said.
On Thursday, advisor Khurshid Ahmad had said the issue was discussed with the secretary higher education in MHRD.
However, a top official in the governor administration said the MHRD categorically refused to reschedule the exam or set up a separate exam centre in Srinagar.
He said the MHRD officials claimed that all GATE candidates had been informed to reach their exams centres in advance.
“The issue will be discussed with Governor Satya Pal Malik and a DO letter may be submitted to the MHRD that exam centres should always be set up in Srinagar district for such prestigious exams,” the official said.