With just 4 days left for the CA foundation, intermediate (IPC), and final exam to begin, the students continue to raise concerns over the lack of a suitable SOP for the conduct of these examinations. As the coronavirus cases continue to surge in many cities across the country, students feel that the ICAI has not made the necessary arrangements to ensure that the safety measures for COVID-19 are followed.
Student Show Concerns on Social Media
Students have been reporting their issues on twitter and other social media platforms with the hashtag #ICAI_DENIES_JUSTICE. While some of the candidates have commented that they have been allotted exam centres in different states, others say that their exam centres are located in containment zones. There have also been reports of many examination centres being under-construction or in remote locations. A few others have complained of their graduation exam dates clashing with the CA exam dates.
The ICAI had lately issued a notification declaring the ‘Opt-Out’ scheme for CA November 2020 examination, as per which the students who have successfully submitted an online application for ICAI November 2020 cycle can avail the ‘Opt-Out’ scheme, provided:
- They are currently COVID-19 positive or have symptoms of COVID-19 at any time up to the conclusion of exams
OR
- Their family members are COVID-19 positive or become COVID-19 positive at any time up to the conclusion of exams
OR
- The area in which their residence is located is declared as a Containment Zone
ICAI’s Response
On the other hand, The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has remained firm on its decision to conduct accountancy exams from November 21 to December 15, 2020. In a formal statement on twitter lately, ICAI said, “Candidates for ICAI exams starting from November 21, 2020, are informed that exams will be held as per schedule…They [candidates] should only concentrate on exam studies and not be misled by any false propaganda/incorrect statements made and should only refer to announcements at http://icai.org.”
4,71,619 students will be appearing in the CA November-December 2020 examinations across 1,085 exam centres. The ICAI has assured that a maximum of around 1,52,000 students will be appearing for the exam on any single day.
