Citing frequent closure of roads, GATE aspirants demand postponement of exams
Pulwama: In view of the prevailing weather conditions and frequent closure of Srinagar-Jammu highway, the Kashmiri engineering students who are scheduled to appear in the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) here have demanded postponement of their examinations.
The engineering students of Kashmir division who have to appear in Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) scheduled to be held on Feb 02 and 03 outside Valley, demand postponement of their exam due to frequent closure of highway.
Aspirants said that hundreds of aspirants are stranded on Srinagar-Jammu highway, which remain closed from last 10 days due to intermittent snowfall, therefore creating hurdles for them in reaching to the exam centres and appearing in the examinations.
“My flight has been rescheduled thrice so far and everyone cannot afford air tickets,” said Mushtaq Ahmad from Awantipora area of Pulwama district who is scheduled to appear in exam on Feb 02.
“The students along with hundreds of other passengers are stuck on the Highway, how can we appear in the examinations,” he said, adding that the step motherly treatment by the exam conducting body with Kashmiri students is always taking a toll on the students.
They said that setting up the centres in Kashmir would have been feasible for them to appear in the examinations in any kind of weather conditions.
“Our centres can be set up in KU, CUK, IUST or any others colleges of Valley but authorities are deliberately playing with our careers,” he said.
The aspirants later demanded immediate postponement of the exams or changing of their centre in Valley, saying that Governor led administration must take cognizance of the issue.
Pertinently, GATE is conducted by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and seven IITs on behalf of the National Coordination Board – GATE, Department of Higher Education, HRD ministry.
It tests the comprehensive understanding of engineering and science students of various undergraduate subjects.
The test scores are used for admission to master of engineering, master of technology and PhD programmes in the Indian Institute of Science, IIT?and other higher educational institutes in India. About 20 PSUs also use GATE scores for recruitment.
Jahangeer Ganaie
