A Chartered Accountant has written a letter to the Prime Minister of India for rescheduling the CA Exam 2024 amid Lok Sabha elections. This a great initiative from the part of the fraternity. Two days back, a CA final student filed a grievance before the Ministry of Corporate Affairs requesting to reschedule the exam date.
The initiative to appeal before the PM was taken by CA Archnana Yadav, has raised the concerns of the CA students across the nation. She shared the soft copy of the letter through her ‘X’ account.
The letter highlighted that “This May 2024, 4 lacs ICAI students are scheduled to appear for exams. These exams coincide with the Lok Sabha Election dates. The exams will start from 3 May 2024 and are scheduled to end on 16th May 2024. The dates are directly coinciding with elections dates even if at phase level. they may not be impacting all students at same time.”
CA Archana has shared tweets from numerous senior accountants, including Anupam Sharma, to underline the necessity of rescheduling exams. The crux of the tweet Anupam sharma tweet is as follows: Residents of various districts in Maharashtra, encompassing CA students from Solapur, Madha, Sangli, Satara, Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, Kolhapur, Raigad, Baramati, Osmanabad, Latur, and Hatkanangle, are slated to cast their votes on May 7 during the third phase of elections. Subsequently, on May 13, residents of Nandurbar, Jalgaon, Raver, Jalna, Aurangabad, Maval, Pune, Shirur, Ahmednagar, Shirdi, and surrounding areas will vote in the fourth phase. Notably, on May 5 and 11, CA students encountered a lack of public road transport, as acknowledged by CCMs, yet despite this, the exams are not being postponed. In light of this situation, CA Archana questions the actions of the exam committee, highlighting the absence of any response despite directives from the esteemed President. This lack of clarity from ICAI leaves CA Archana perplexed, as she expresses her hope that CA students facing exams on these dates do not encounter any difficulties.
The letter was also attached with the letter of ‘Indiawide Parents Association’ requesting to postpone the Entrance examinations during the lok sabha elections. Every parent is concerned about the same.
During the exam time, the election campaign, traffic, loudspeaker noises of loudspeaker, lack of public transport, libraries and other several issues will affect the students negatively in all ways. The ICAI has not provided any clarification for the same.
CA Santosh Ramanuj Tiwari, in his ‘X’ account has shared that “Have met with Nanda Sir, VP of ICAI & had a long discussion about postponement of CA exams, submitted representations too, they hv to take inter exam in Sept, postponement will impact other planning, so it will not be feasible, Kindly get back to study”.
Another concern raised by CA Archana is that many CA firms have not granted exam leave on time to students with the calculation that exams will be postponed like earlier years.
Regardless of the strategies in place, it is essential for a professional institute to support its students. The Examination Committee serves not only to schedule and administer exams but also to address student concerns. It is the responsibility of the Institute to ensure that students can take their exams without disruption.
It is not new to postpone the exam dates after election time. A week before, the Union Public Services Commission ( UPSC ) postponed the examination.
Amidst various considerations, CA students have a constitutional right to vote, which has been impeded by the decision of ICAI. The voting booth and exam centre are situated in separate locations, posing challenges for students in travelling between them. As a result, students are faced with the dilemma of sacrificing either their exams or their voting rights.
Election is something that comes once in 5 years and where democracy speaks. If this is the case, where is democracy? The fundamental right to elect representatives is jeopardised by the scheduling of exams. ICAI must promptly consider addressing the students and to provide clarification on the matter.
As CA Archana Yadav embarks on this great initiative, let us await the officials’ response to this matter or the take of the PM.
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