New Delhi: The National Testing Agency (NTA) postponed at least 16 exams due to different reasons since its inception in 2018, the Ministry of Education informed the Lok Sabha on Monday. COVID-19 pand
New Delhi: The National Testing Agency (NTA) postponed at least 16 exams due to different reasons since its inception in 2018, the Ministry of Education informed the Lok Sabha on Monday. COVID-19 pandemic, administrative reasons, logistical reasons, and technical issues are some of the reasons for the postponement. The information was shared by Minister of State for Education Sukanta Majumdar in response to a written question in Lok Sabha asked by DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi.
“Since its inception in 2018, NTA has successfully conducted over 240 examinations involving over 5.4 crore students. “Since most of the examinations conducted by NTA are held in multiple-subjects, multiple-shifts and span over a number of days, there have been instances due to unforeseen circumstances like COVID-19 pandemic, logistical and technical issues, administrative issues, legal orders etc, when examination dates initially notified in respect of specific subjects or shifts could not be adhered to,” the Minister was quoted as saying to news agency PTI.
Exams Postponed Due to COVID-19 Pandemic And Logistical Challenges
The JEE Main(2020), NEET UG(2020), JEE Main(2021), and NEET UG(2021) are the four examinations that were postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic, as per the data shared by the minister. Meanwhile, the CSIR UGC-NET (2020), UGC-NET (December 2020), UGC-NET (May 2021), and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) AIEEA (2020) were postponed due to “COVID-19 pandemic and logistical challenges”.
In 2022, the PhD Entrance examination conducted by Indira Gandhi National Open University(IGNOU) were postponed due to administrative reasons. Likewise, Graduate Aptitude Test Biotechnology (GAT-B), 2023 was postponed as per consultation with regional centres for biotechnology.
This year, the National Common Entrance Test (NCET) was postponed due to technical issues, and CSIR-NET, 2024 due to logistic issues. “NTA has started declaration of examination calendar of major examinations, much in advance for the facilitation of candidates. The examination calendar is planned taking into consideration, buffer days to accommodate for reschedules and postponements for reasons beyond the control of NTA,” the minister further added.
(With PTI Inputs)
Topics
