Machibet AffiliateCuet: CUET was meant to de-stress. It's turned out to be a nightmare

How do you train for a marathon? You build your fitness, stamina and mental strength, learn to pace your run to avoid an early burnout, and remain prepared for some surprises. But what happens when these surprises include mini-finish lines appearing mid-way, the length of the run being extended and, finally, participants being told that the final stretch of the course had been converted into a 100m dash?The Class XII board exams have always resembled a marathon for students and their "trainers" (teachers and parents). But this year's run has had just too many nasty surprises. As a parent of a boy who sat for the boards this year — held over two terms for the first time — and is now preparing to take the CUET-UG (Central Universities Entrance Test – Undergraduate) for admission into a college, the latest jolt came late Monday night (July 12) when the exam schedule was finally announced. medium nocaption92850916Packed schedule, unrealistic expectationsOur son had opted for five tests under CUET — one language (English) and four domain subjects. To our utter amazement, all five tests have been slotted on a single day. His schedule reads like this: slot 1 (9am to 12.15pm) has three subjects – English, psychology and political science; slot 2 (3pm to 6.45pm) has two subjects – history and sociology.He is expected to come prepared with all the subjects he has studied through the course of Class XII, including some topics omitted for the CBSE boards, sit in the exam hall for seven hours (with a break of 2 hours 45 minutes in between) and tackle 250 questions on what will be the most important test day in his life so far. It’s the stuff nightmares are made of.It’s like telling a marathon runner to sprint the last couple of miles of the race that has already been extended to 50 miles, with CUET coming into the picture as the sole gateway for college admissions as late as March this year. medium nocaption92850261More than his knowledge of the subjects, this exam schedule will test the child’s stamina, ability to stay at the highest focus level for hours at a stretch and manage stress along the way. And, what if one of his initial papers doesn't go too well? That can have a domino effect – won’t he be carrying the disappointment into the other tests, all packed so close together?Yes, the Covid pandemic has played havoc with exam planning for the second year running. Yes, CBSE, University Grants Commission (UGC) and National Testing Agency (NTA) officials have been hard-pressed with tight schedules and other logistical nightmares. But don’t the students — all of them weary and mentally fragile after tackling two years of lockdown, laptop classes and an unending string of exams — deserve a fairer and more empathetic treatment? These are, after all, kids who haven’t experienced a single “normal” classroom day since they passed out of Class X. medium nocaption92850334Aimed at reducing stress, ends up raising anxietyLook at how this academic year panned out for them. In July, CBSE announced that the board exam would be split into two equal parts, with Term I tests held in November-December, and Term II in March-April. (Yes, March-April was the initial announcement for the tests that finally took place mainly in May-June.) This left teachers and students enough time to prepare for Term I but hardly any for the subjective-type Term II exams.On November 30, UGC asked central universities to “take appropriate measures” for conducting a common entrance test for UG admissions. That was the first intimation, halfway into the academic year, about the possibility of a college entrance exam. medium nocaption92850401Next, in early February, the commission announced that the entrance test will be held in 13 languages “between June and July”. An official was quoted saying that the exact dates of the tests were likely to be declared “by the end of next week”.Even at that point, students had no clue whether the board marks will also carry weightage for college admissions. Another month and a half passed by before that clarification came. On March 21, UGC said CUET will be the sole basis for college admissions to central universities (and others that opted to come under CUET). As for the range of dates of the exams, that was finally announced on June 22. medium nocaption92850290Then began the excruciating wait for the CUET exam schedule. My son would scan the net every day, often falling for click-baits that promised “important announcements” relating to CUET. Then, with just three clear days left before the first exam date, the schedule finally arrived for an exam that NTA officials have insisted is aimed at reducing the stress of students!Amid all the shifting goalposts, anxious wait for delayed intimations and cruel exam schedules, those who say students should solely “concentrate on their studies” and not worry about “extraneous factors”, just don’t live in the real world. medium nocaption928483671. What CUET tells use about India's most aspired universities2. St Stephen's has picked the wrong fight with DU3. How CUET will be one more of endless exams medium nocaption92848384