He has been burning the midnight oil for months, but in the past couple of days the State syllabus student from Malappuram has lost sleep over a clash in the schedule of the JEE (Joint Entrance Examination) Main examinations and the Plus Two higher secondary examinations.
“We have only two JEE Main sessions this time. If we miss one session, there’s only one more that we can pin our hopes on. It’s a tough situation. Both the Plus Two examinations and the JEE are important to our future,” he says.
Exam schedule
Like him, hundreds of students in the State are in a fix in the wake of the conflict in schedules of the JEE Main and the Plus Two examinations. Session 1 of the JEE Main will be held from April 16 to 21. The Plus Two examinations will see Science students appear for Part 1 English on April 18 and Physics on April 20. Only when students receive their admit card will they come to know their JEE Main time slot, but they are concerned about a possible date clash on April 18 and 20.
Says the mother of the Malappuram student, “There were four sessions last year, and even if the first was a sort of a familiarisation exercise, students had three more chances to improve. This year, there are only two sessions, and if they miss the first, the second will be their only chance of making it. They won’t get a do-over. All the hard work they have put in for years could well come to naught.”
As things stand, students have no say in the allotment of dates. “Even if there is no date clash, and students have a Plus Two exam the day after a JEE Main slot, how will they focus on either,” says the worried parent.
A school Principal points out that the approach to both the examinations is different, and this makes it all the more daunting for students to switch from one to another in a matter of hours.
Higher secondary teachers say that since the Plus Two examinations are a qualifying examination, students cannot miss it. At the same time, appearing for both JEE Main Session 1 and 2 is an aspirant’s right, they say.
An entrance coaching institute says they are helping students remain calm and confident. If a date clash does arise, they will try and get students to focus on the Plus Two examinations and then look at the JEE Session 2 in a positive frame of mind.
Onus on State
Since the JEE Mains are held nationally, a revision in its dates is unlikely. This will mean Kerala, like at least some other States, may have to consider amending the Plus Two exam timetable. It has been done earlier, teachers point out.
However, a few teachers underline the difficulty in revising the Plus Two exam timetable as the theory examinations are sandwiched between the model and the practical examinations.
Director of General Education Jeevan Babu K. said the State had announced its exam schedule at the end of December, while the JEE Main dates had been published only on March 1. Since students from the State had to sit for the JEE Main, the government would explore what could be done to facilitate it, and take a decision soon.
