The dates of the Common Entrance Test (CET) 2018 for admissions to professional courses have been announced and they are a fortnight earlier than last year owing to the Assembly elections which are scheduled for next year in April-May.
The test, which is a gateway for government and government-quota seats in engineering, technology, farm science, Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani and Homoeopathy and B. Pharm, Pharm D. courses, will now be conducted on April 18 and 19, 2018. It is usually held in the first week of May.
While the biology and mathematics test will be conducted on April 18, physics and chemistry papers have been scheduled for April 19.
The Kannada language test for Horanadu and Gadinadu candidates will be conducted on April 20. There is likely to be objection to the change in dates, with some sections expected to urge the government to reconsider its decision.
CET dates cause anxiety among students
Students have grown anxious with the dates and that goes for teachers, parents, and coaching centres. This is not only due to the little time left for preparation for competitive exams after the board exams, but also because students aspiring for these courses write more than one entrance test.
Shwetha S., a II PU student, said, “Advancing the exams by a week is fine. But the department has advanced this by almost two weeks,” she said.
Thimmaiah Purle, president of the Karnataka State Pre-University College Lecturers’ Association, demanded that the government reschedule the dates. “The II PU examination is scheduled to end on March 16. Students will get very little time to prepare for the competitive examinations,” he said.
Some sections are expected to urge the government to reconsider their decision.
However, Ravinandan B.B., vice-president, All-India Democratic Students’ Organisation, welcomed the move and said, “It is good that the authorities have alerted the students almost six months in advance.”
Medical and dental seat aspirants will have to write the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) conducted by the CBSE, the dates of which are yet to be announced.
