College admission, exam dates worry many
CHENNAI: Private students and those who are not satisfied with the results published through the new method of evaluation, wanting to write Class 12 exams for betterment of marks, are worried if they might miss a seat in college admissions.
According to the recent announcement by Higher Education Minister K Ponmudy, the application process for admission into Arts, Science, and Engineering colleges will start from July 26. However, Class 12 exams in the State have been scheduled from August 6 to 19. Among the people who will be taking the exam are more than 39,000 private candidates, nearly 2,000 absentees, students with arrears, and registered students who are not happy with their Class 12 marks.
“The government deciding to conduct exams much later after opening the college admissions is in itself an irony. We were promised that we will be given a chance to write exams if we are not satisfied with our marks. But, what will be the use of it if top college seats get filled before we even get a chance to apply,” worried P Saindhavi, a Class 12 student from Tambaram. Parents said students will be taking up optional exams to meet the cut-off, yet will be left only with tier 2 and 3 colleges.
“The students who want to rewrite Class 12 exams might only be 1 per cent, but education must be unbiased and provide equal opportunities to all. The government must reconsider its decision and invite applications for college admissions at a later date. Or, this will discourage a lot of top performers from writing the exams,” said one of the parents, L Bhargav.
Private students also feel that there is a common perception that they might not aim for top colleges. According to a private student, Lathika Rani, some of them give exams in private due to unavoidable conditions and this does not make them any less competitive to bag a seat in top college.
The Class 12 supplementary exam will be conducted from August 6 to 19. Students not satisfied with the marks calculated can apply from July 23 to 27, but will need to do so for all subjects. They cannot seek to write any particular subject.
‘Factored in Covid-19’
When contacted, a School Education Department official said the exam date was fixed after discussing with experts about the Covid-19 situation.