‘We can either vote or appear for CA exam’: Aspirants react to revised ICAI exam dates

While ICAI took this decision to avoid any clash with the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, CA aspirants are unhappy with the revised exam schedule. Read what aspirants are saying:

Anuj Kumar Jaiswal, aspirant

My exam constituency is Bhagalpur, Bihar whereas I am from New Delhi. I am sure I will not be travelling back to Delhi as the travelling time will hinder with my preparations. The proximity of the exam dates (May 8 and 14) to the election dates (May 7 and 13) is problematic for CA students. There are many other CA aspirants like me who are facing this issue. ICAI should take these complaints in consideration and postpone the exams to first week of June.

Aditya Singh, CA Intermediate student

While not completely, the ICAI exam schedule is still clashing with the election dates as they are very close to each other. My exam centre is at least 80 kilometers away from where I stay. Who will be responsible if there are any mishappenings due to the elections? I cannot return within an hour after taking my CA exam. It’s impossible to spend 4-5 hours travelling to vote right before the exam. It would disrupt my study flow and hamper my preparation.

Neeraj Arora, CA intern and aspirant

We were expecting the CA exam dates to be postponed to June, as per the previous years’ trend seen in 2019 and 2014 elections. There are several CA students who will not be able to vote in these Lok Sabha elections because their voting centre and ICAI exam centres are in different cities. Not many students will be willing to travel back to their hometown during the rush hours and so close to the CA exams as we have to dedicate at least 12-15 hours everyday. I am not against ICAI but they should have been mindful about the basic fundamental rights related to voting.

Jayendra Malhotra, ICAI tutor

The revised CA exam schedule has its positive side. Some exams have been postponed, which gives students a few extra days to prepare. I think ICAI has taken the right decision, as this will also ensure that the rest of the academic year goes smoothly for CA students — be it foundation, intermediate or final level. Students should stop worrying and gear up for the upcoming exams, they should see it as a few additional days rather than thinking what could have been the other schedule.

(With inputs from Priyanshu Priya and Simran Bhatt)