Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Feb 3: The Supreme Court refused on Thursday refused to postpone Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering exam, 2022 (GATE 2022) in view of the third wave of COVID-19, saying postponement of the exam will create “chaos and uncertainty” among students.
Two pleas made by 11 candidates and some teachers were heard in court. The petition had requested that the examination be postponed owing to the third wave of covid-19, claiming that the GATE committee’s standards incentivize individuals who do not take the covid-19 test while having symptoms.
Asymptomatic candidates are allowed to take the exam, whereas symptomatic but not positive individuals are also allowed to take the exam, but in separate rooms, according to the petition.
Furthermore, candidates who are covid-19 positive, whether symptomatic or asymptomatic, are not permitted. According to the petition, the guidelines encourage children to avoid getting tested for Covid-19 because the instructions allow students who are symptomatic but not Covid positive to take the test.
On behalf of the National Coordination Board (NCB)-GATE, Ministry of Education, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore and seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in Bombay, Delhi, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras, and Roorkee will conduct the exams at 200 locations across the country.
This year, more than 8 lakh people are likely to take the exam, and the results are utilised to get admission to several postgraduate schools in science and engineering, as well as for recruitment by several PSUs. A bench consisting of Chief Justice of India NV Raman, Justice AS Bopanna, and Hima Koli heard the case.
