Unfair to heap uncertainty on ATKT candidates

File pic/Bipin Kokate

A number of students who have been Allowed To Keep Terms (ATKT) are still wondering whether they will be allowed to give papers in which they have ATKT or what will be their status, given that exams have been cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A report in this paper detailed how students are immensely confused about their ATKT status. Even if college final exams have been cancelled, what happens if you have to give an ATKT exam? There is a large number of students who have to sit for ATKT examinations but they are unsure if their degrees will say paper pending or has to appear for papers later and anxious about the path ahead of them.

This confusion will surely play on the minds of students and is going to add to the stress levels in an already very strained situation. Before making announcements, every detail must be thought through and meticulously planned. There should have been a panel of academicians and administrators responsible for charting the way, deciding the process of exam cancellation, giving details on all other aspects like ATKT exams and telling students their fates. Now will their degrees say that previous papers are yet to be completed?

Once decisions are made after thorough planning, it is equally important they are disseminated clearly and lucidly so that students know what is expected in the short term. While nobody can predict what turn the crisis will take next, we can at least control our decisions and how we respond to those taken at official levels. Then, communication becomes key, to avoid the haze and mismanagement that is created when things are not completely thought through. Let us hope for much more clarity and transparency on the academic front so that you have fewer youngsters on edge because of large-scale uncertainty.

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