Amid present global uncertainty, students across the country are in a great dilemma; whether their applications for admissions will be accepted or not. They fear losing their academic career as varsities across the country, who enroll students on entrance examination, have not yet come up with any admission notification, as their admission offices are still closed.
Though various universities and colleges are trying to complete admissions through online mode, but the concern before the administration is how to conduct entrance examinations for new academic programmes. This has stalled the whole process. Students across the country are worried as some prestigious examinations of engineering and medical have also been deferred as the epidemic has forced the authorities to postpone the already scheduled entrance examination calendar.
The same concern besiege the students who want to get enrolled for various Post Graduate programmes in different universities across the country. To tackle this growing concern among students, the varsities gear up using online advanced technologies to communicate with officials and students, so that entrance examination and invitation for online admission forms should started at the earliest. That way students will get some time to prepare for their test. Besides, the entrance examination should be changed from pen and paper mode to Computer Based Test (CBT) pattern. That will help the authorities to conduct the examination in a phased manner. If a varsity is receiving five hundred application forms for a programme, out of them, hundred students can attend the CBT test under proper SOPs besides monitoring them by CCTVs.
Academic calendars have gone for a toss, as students who dream to enter a university or college have no clarity whether the admission for 2020 academic session will be deferred or completely dropped, as there is no certainty about the lockdown period. If we look closely at the present state of affairs, it is a matter of great concern, that needs a serious thought. It is time to think seriously lest we lose an academic year. There is a need to take contingency measures with higher degree of urgency.
Shah Khalid is spokesperson J&K RTI Foundation