With less than one month before the start of the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) 2022, several candidates are demanding the postponement of the exam due to the prevailing COVID-19 situation in the country.
According to PTI, over 23,000 candidates, who are set to appear for GATE 2022, have signed a petition demanding that the exam be deferred in view of the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic in the country. The hashtag #PostponeGATE2022 was also trending recently on Twitter, according to NDTV.
According to an NDTV report, several studies on the third COVID-19 wave, including one done by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, state that the third wave of the pandemic is expected to peak in February and end by April.
Many GATE candidates took to social media to raise the topic of deferring the exam due to the surge in cases and the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.
COVID cases are increasing day by day. In this difficult time we urge @EduMinOfIndia @IITKgp to postpone GATE 2022 for the safety of our students or allow them to change the center. @iitbombay @IITGuwahati @iitdelhi @iitmadras @IITKanpur @iitroorkee #postponegate2022
— GATE ACADEMY (@gate_academy) January 17, 2022
Several applicants gave examples of other exams that had been postponed due to the pandemic.
#postponegate2022
If UPPSC mains is postponed where has only 20k to 30k students has to appear then why not gate where 8 lakh students has to appear pic.twitter.com/XFJ0xVApWz
— Manu (@Manu35457452) January 19, 2022
Others stressed on the fact that many competitive exams are being deferred while universities and colleges are still shut due to the pandemic. They argued that the government is risking the health of thousands of candidates if it goes ahead with the GATE exam.
Universities , colleges and hostels getting closed, all exams getting postponed. Even organising institute postponing their reunion .Why risk the health of all 1 million gate aspirants in this third wave??@tewari_virendra @IITKgp @EduMinOfIndia
#postponegate2022 @PMOIndia
— Din Djarin 🚀🚀 (@_din_djarin_) January 15, 2022
This year, at least 8 lakh applicants are expected to appear for the GATE 2022, according to news reports.
The exam will be conducted by IIT-Kharagpur on 5,6,12 and 13 February this year. The detailed exam schedule, hall tickets and other eligibility criteria can be found on the official website at http://www.iitkgp.ac.in/.
The GATE 2022 will be held in a fully computer-based mode due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The exam will be held in two sessions of three hours each, with the first session from 9 am to 12 noon, and the second from 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm.
Two new papers, Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering (NM) and Geomatics Engineering (GE), have been introduced by the institute for interested candidates this year.
For more details related to course structure, exam syllabus and other details, candidates can keep visiting the GATE 2022 official website.