Postpone all private university online entrance tests until June

Hyderabad: Contrary to the decisions of the apex regulatory authorities of school and higher education, the private universities are all set to conduct online entrance tests for admissions.

The Covid-19 created crisis has forced the governments and school boards to postpone the examinations. Besides, the UGC, AICTE, ICAR and other state education councils have also postponed conducting entrance tests to several all India admissions.

However, turning the calamity in an opportunity during the current crisis, several private universities have started advertising to conduct online entrance examinations for the ensuing academic year.

Praja Science Vedika, State President, Dr M Suresh Babu is finding fault with the attempts of some private universities to conduct online entrance examinations to make money, even during the current crisis.

He said that the attempts by some private universities are meant to create artificial demand to fill the seats. He said that though online examinations are beneficial in numerous ways, however, different user segments have different benefit expectations from them.

Some of the private universities are going for online entrance tests in April to complete the admission process in May and start conducting classes from June 2020.

Expressing doubts over various disadvantages involved in the proper conduct of the online entrance test to assess students, he said there is more than what meets the eyes.

One among the main reasons for some of these universities resorting to conduct online entrance tests is that there is no demand. "Further, they will not abide by their brochure and their own frame of guidelines.

Also, they are highly unreliable. Most of the middle-class parents reserve the seats by paying a non-refundable fee of ten to fifteen thousand rupees," he pointed out.

Some of the private universities are taking advantage as the schedule for the government examinations and common entrance examinations are not yet announced.

Conducting the online entrance tests amidst the current crisis is forcing the worried parents to book seats in three to four private universities.

By conducting online entrance tests some of these private universities are minting money in utter disregard to the crisis being faced and exploiting the weakness of the parents.

Against this backdrop, Suresh Babu said it is high time that the higher education authorities should intervene and postpone all the online examinations process till June.