With the Common University Entrance Test Undergraduate (CUET-UG) exams set to take place between July 15 and August 10 and the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) scheduled on July 17, students have been left with little time between the two exams to prepare for the additional travel and other logistical obstacles involved. The different patterns of the tests, scheduled close to one another, also pose a challenge
Jeetendriya Sahoo, an aspirant from Odisha’s Jharsuguda district, said, “While my NEET-UG exam centre is local, the closest CUET exam centre is in Bhubaneswar. My district was not even on the list for the CUET exam centres in the application form. I am sure that no matter what, I will have to travel at least five to six hours to appear for the CUET exam. If it is on July 16 and I have NEET-UG on July 17, I will first travel to Bhubaneswar, appear for the hours-long CUET exam, and then return the same day to appear for the NEET-UG exam.”
Appearing for CUET, NEET, and the state Engineering Agriculture and Medical Common Entrance Test (EAMCET), scheduled between July 14 and 20, Sahithi from Adilabad in Telangana is also facing a similar situation. While her CUET exam centre is in the Adilabad district, the closest EAMCET centre she found is in Ranga Reddy district, about 350 km away.
“There is only a day’s gap between both the exams. It will be very difficult to travel so far and attempt (two exams),” she told The Indian Express.
Students are hoping that the National Testing Agency (NTA) will soon release the CUET-UG admit cards so they can make the necessary travel arrangements and plan ahead. University Grants Commission (UGC) chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar told The Indian Express that there was “no clash” of exam dates and “the dates will remain as announced”.
Many aspirants are also worried about their preparation strategy for the two exams since the syllabi and patterns are different. Maitreyee Mondal, a 19-year-old student from West Bengal’s Murshidabad district, said, “It is actually difficult to manage (the exams) since CUET has different combinations to choose (from). Moreover, the pressure of NEET is already difficult.”
Pawan Singh, a NEET and CUET aspirant from Jaipur in Rajasthan said “even though his exam centres were in the same city”, the “pressure of doing well in the exams was adding to the stress”.
“I am appearing for NEET UG for the second time and the first time for CUET. Even though I know the syllabus of NEET-UG and have been preparing for some time, I have the added pressure of making sure I clear NEET this year. Otherwise, societal pressure will keep increasing. Now, with CUET being added to this, I feel like I am underprepared for both. But, I have decided to concentrate only on NEET, and will just attempt CUET with the hope that my previous preparations from Class 12 will come in handy.”
Meanwhile, the UGC Chairman, M Jagadesh Kumar, told indianexpress.com that “there is no clash. The dates will remain as announced.”
To streamline their preparation, Toprankers CEO Gaurav Goel advised students to prepare a proper timetable for revision. Goel is also the co-founder of the exam counselling and preparation platform.
“We’d suggest that students stay determined about their end goal. Now is the time to build strong areas. This will help them to build accuracy in the exam, which increases their chances of securing a better rank. My suggestion to all students is to write the name of all chapters and topics, and mark them strong, neutral, or weak. And then devise a plan to understand concepts of neutral topics and then practise questions to master them, followed by practising questions of strong topics,” said Goel.
Courtesy : The Indian Express