[CA Exams 2021]"Provide Opt Out Option And Additional Exam, Increase Number Of Attempts For Old Course Students" Over 6,000 CA Aspirants Write To CJI

Over 6,000 Chartered Accountancy aspirants have written to CJI NV Ramana seeking directions to ICAI to provide an Opt-Out option to the students who are unable to appear for the exams due to COVID-19, increase the number of attempts for Old Course Students and conduct an additional examination attempt for students who are unable to appear.

While highlighting the issue of lack of opt-out option for over 3 lakh candidates who have to appear for 15 day long offline exams from July 5, the letter has urged CJI to take suo-moto cognizance of this matter and club their application with the PIL filed with regards to the CA exams in July 2021. The CA students have requested CJI to list the matter under extremely urgent category as the exams are going to begin from 5th July and admit cards are to be released soon.

The students have stated in their letter that they approached the ICAI to provide an Opt-Out Option for the upcoming exams, wherein if a student is unable to appear for the upcoming exams either because him or his family contracting COVID-19 or for some other reason due to pandemic, then he can Opt-Out for this exam cycle and appear in the next exam before November cycle.

The Students have further stated that this examination attempt of July 2021 is the last attempt for the students of Old Course to clear their exams and if they are unable to appear for the exams this time, they will be forcefully shifted to the new course and will have to study the syllabus all over again.

"Sir, you will understand that many of these old course students will not be able to appear for the examination in the coming exam cycle of July 2021 and it is due to this they will be shifted to the new course forcefully and all the efforts and years they have put in to study the old course syllabus will be wasted and it would be very harsh and rigid to do so, especially when the whole nation is suffering from a pandemic." the letter reads

While expressing concern regarding no additional attempt available for the students who are unable to appear, the students have stated that the against its standard practice of conducting the exams twice a year the Institute while conducting the November 2020 exams had not only provided the students with an Opt-Out option but it also provided the students with an additional attempt in January 21. Similar benefits are being sought by the students this year as well.