The National Talent Search Examination (NTSE), which is conducted to select Class X students for scholarship till they complete higher studies, has been postponed in view of the Covid-19 outbreak.

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has issued a notice to postpone stage-II of the test, which was supposed to be held on June 13. Stage-I of the exam is conducted at the state level while stage-II is held at the national level.

The NCERT has a state-wise quota system while allowing the stage-I qualified students. The stage-I exam has already been held.

Students qualifying in stage-II get Rs 1,250 per month in Classes XI and XII and Rs 2,000 at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

The NCERT attributed the postponement to the prevailing Covid situation in the country and lockdown in many states.

Earlier, the National Testing Agency (NTA) had postponed tests such as the Joint Entrance Examination Main, which is used to select students for admission into BTech courses, and the National Eligibility Test for posts of assistant professors. The National Board of Examination has also deferred its NEET (National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test) postgraduate exam. The AIIMS, too, has postponed its PG entrance test.

Student demand

Student associations such as the Students’ Federation of India and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad have demanded cancellation of all types of tests after students of different higher educational institutions opposed the move to hold online exams.

Students of St Stephen’s College had on Friday demanded the cancellation of the proposed online exams for the fourth and sixth semesters. Students of Jawaharlal Nehru University have also written to the deans and vice-chancellor to not hold online exams now.

“The university community is losing many of its members due to the deadly spree of the virus. With many of our professors failing in their fight with Covid and most of our departments being down with Covid, the time is just so improper for academic activity or examination,” said Akhil K.M., convener of the SFI in Delhi University.

The JNU’s ABVP unit has in a letter to the vice-chancellor requested him to stop all forms of examinations now.