Hey, guys! I’m sure you’re all seeing the petitions for postponing the JEE and NEET exams. And, as a second year BiPC student who has to take the NEET exam next year, I’d just like to say a quick few words.
Y’all are not seeing the big picture here.
I’ve been a lot of petitions going around to postpone the exams, which is what prompted me to make this post. These exams were supposed to be conducted in April/May, but were postponed several times until the government has finally decided to hold them in September, which is when the first term is supposed to start. I’m going to put this simply - the exams were supposed to be held ages ago, after which the students were supposed to have a nice, long vacation before they start attending uni. But this year, their freedom has already been pushed back for several months, and by signing petitions and speaking out against the exams, y’all are agreeing to push back their freedom for several months more. If the government does postpone the exams, it won’t be for a couple of weeks, it will be for months. The students who are pleading to postpone the exams want it pushed back to fucking November! And if y’all keep pushing, it will be postponed well into next year, and it will affect a lot of future students, too.
About the students who want the exam postponed? Well, newsflash - while there are some students who do say this out of goodwill, a majority of them are probably procrastinators who spent the first month or two of quarantine wiling away and now are utterly unprepared when the exam is staring them in the face. Don’t believe me? Honey, I’ve seen this happen several times during my intermediate preboards alone. I’ve seen so many students waste the time allotted to them before the exam, and then go and plead with the Vice Principal to postpone the exam to a few hours later, or even the next day. And the hardworking students like me who’ve been studying hard are affected. I’ve been so frustrated whenever those exams got postponed, and I can only imagine how frustrated and mentally exhausted the students who have been preparing hard for the entrance tests for these past two years are feeling right now.
The government says that postponing the exams further will affect the student’s careers, but it’s more than that. Postponing the exams will affect a lot of students’ mental health, too. These exams aren’t like your regular tests where a few days of preparation before the exam day will suffice. A lot of you don’t realise the scope of competition of these exams. One mark’s difference translates to a difference of thousands of ranks. One has to study for several hours, every single day, if they want to ace these tests. Imagine studying from 6:30 in the morning to about 10 in the night nearly every single day for two years. Imagine being forced to continue this schedule for several months before because the exam you’re preparing for has been postponed. Imagine confining yourself to your room for hours on end, reading the same books over and over and over again because even if you forget a single detail, it can affect your final score, and ultimately your career as a whole. If that were me, and I’m sure a lot more MPC and BiPC students will agree with me, I’d just want to get done with the exam, Covid be damned. Because postponing will mean several more months of exhaustive study and limited freedom.
I can imagine your faces as you read this. Don’t. I’ve chosen this life. Nearly every MPC and BiPC student has chosen this life, because it’s all worth it in the end, when we finish the exam at last. But because of a bunch of lazier students who are hella active on social media, the exam and the freedom of these students is being pushed back. And while these students are willing to put in all of their hard work, two years of studying and studying and more studying with very few breaks in between will obviously take a toll on their mental health. Please. Just let the exams happen. People are willing to sit in the exam hall for three hours with a mask on just to put the weight of these exams behind them. With proper precautionary measures and social distancing, everything will be fine. Besides, the cases are only increasing - if y’all want the exams to be pushed back to after Covid, there’s a good chance it will be postponed well into the next year, which makes things really, really complicated. It’s best to let them happen now. Things aren’t getting any better, and it’s better to give the exams now than when things get even worse.
And if you’re concerned about the flooded areas, there’s a chance that they will recede before the exams. If not, and if there are students unwilling to risk the floods and Covid, if there are any concerned about their lives... LONG TERM IS A THING!! There is no age limit to JEE and NEET. If they are truly concerned about their lives, then whatever exam fee they paid shouldn’t matter to them. They can choose to let this exam go, and write it next year, or the year after that, or whenever they’re ready! If they are truly concerned about their lives, they can put their career aspirations on pause.
But before you support the postponement of these exams, please, please, please think about the mental health of the students who have been working hard, who are ready to give these exams. A lot of you have been enjoying quarantine, but please think about the students who have to put these exams first. That is all I ask of you.
