Chandigarh: Students in a fix as dates of JEE Main, NDA exam clash
In July, education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal had assured students that those with overlap between the two exams will be accommodated, but now after the admit cards have been officially issued, the students have been left in a dilemma.
Students desirous of taking both the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) Main exam, organised by the National Testing Agency (NTA), and the National Defence Academy (NDA) exam, which is conducted by Union Public Service Commission, on September 6 are in a dilemma as the dates and time of the two tests are clashing.
Some students have written to the NTA asking that the exam dates be changed, but no communication has been received from their end.
Ravi Kumar of Nayagaon wants to follow in the footsteps of his father and join the Indian Army. But his JEE Main and NDA exam have both been scheduled on September 6. “For the Indian Naval Academy and technical entries of the Indian Army, a good JEE score is required. Many students keep this as a backup in case they don’t clear the NDA exam. I will have no option but to skip the JEE exam, but it will hurt my chances of joining the army later.”
EDUCATION MINISTER HAD ASSURED HELP
In July, education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal had assured students that those with overlap between the two exams will be accommodated, but now after the admit cards have been officially issued, the students have been left in a dilemma.
Mandeep who hails from Mansa district in Punjab said, “Candidates [applying for JEE Main] were asked if they were also appearing for NDA. I had checked yes but still I was allotted a date clashing with the NDA exam.” The copies of his admit cards accessed by the Hindustan Times show that Mandeep is supposed to sit for his online JEE Main between 8am to 12pm, and for the written NDA exam between 10am-12:30pm and 2pm-4:30pm.
Anuj Kaushik, another student who will be appearing for both the exams in Chandigarh said that he had sent two emails to the NTA with copies of his admit cards about a week back asking that the date for his JEE Main exam be changed, but no action was taken.
‘4.5 LAKH STUDENTS APPEARING FOR NDA’
Kunal Singh, who runs a coaching institute in Sector 34 for students appearing in both NDA and JEE exams, said, “Nearly 4.5 lakh students will be appearing for the NDA exam. Usually two exams are held per year, but this year only one will be held owing to the pandemic. Many students are likely to be affected by this mixup and they must speak up so that preventive steps can be taken before it is too late.”
Kunal added that since the JEE Main exam was being held daily between September 1 and 6, NTA must adjust the exam date of affected candidates to prevent the clash.