Late exams will hit IIT hopefuls

Any change in schedule for Class 12 exams for CBSE and ICSE students due to the Assembly elections in five states would impact their preparation for the Joint Entrance Examination for IITs and top engineering institutes.

According to experts, students from these two boards will be left with little time to prepare for the JEE (Main) on April 2.

In the normal course, CBSE Class 12 exams begin on March 1 and for ISC students in the last week of February. That schedule gave students about 10 days to prepare for the JEE (Main).

If the exam dates are revised to avoid a clash with the elections, it could leave them less time for the entrance exam.

According to Dr P. Ananda Raman, director, FIIT JEE Hyderabad, CBSE students comprise almost half the 13 lakh students who take the JEE every year. If the board exams are deferred, CBSE students will have their task cut out as far as the entrance exam is concerned, he said.

“Senior Intermediate students from Telangana state and Andhra Pradesh are likely to finish their state board exams by March 15, which gives them more than two weeks. Not many CBSE students from the Telugu states aim for the IITs. So state board students are better placed,” he said.

Delhi-based Aakash Institutions director Aakash Chaudhry said there was no talk as of now about deferring the JEE (Main) in case the CBSE postpones its exams.

CBSE AND ICSE exams in normal years are completed by March 20, giving students about 10 days for the JEE (Main) on April 2.

PUTTING off the Class 12 exams will reduce the time that students get to prepare for the prestigious entrance test.

SUCH a situation had not arisen in 30 years.