The Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) on Thursday asserted that the CET will be held as scheduled on April 19 even as students, parents and teachers expressed concern and protested over the one-day examination.
“There will be no changes in the time-table. Tests for all four papers will be held on April 19, as per schedule’, KEA Executive Director S G Hegde told Deccan Herald.

In Mysore, students and teachers of various colleges on Wednesday had staged a protest expressing their displeasure over the decision.

A cross section of PU students in Bangalore too had echoed similar view while interacting with Deccan Herald.
But Mr Hegde argued that there was no need to conduct the CET over two days.

“Last year the test was on a single day. So, this year too the same pattern is being followed. A lot of students from rural areas come to cities to appear for the CET. So, it is easy for them if the tests are held on one day. Moreover, all competitive exams like IIT and AIEEE is also held on one day,” Mr Hegde pointed out.
Students feel that one-day exam will lead to more stress and anxiety.

Echoing similar opinions, PU science teachers questioned the government move. And, they felt that the government should revert back to old system of two-day examination.

Teachers said that CET papers are difficult and sufficient time is required for preparation as the test is a turning point in students’ career.

Deccan Herald spoke to some teachers and most of them supported the students’ views.

Manohar Narajji, Physics lecturer, Sheshadripuram First Grade College, Yelahanka:
Students need time to prepare for any exam. With all the subjects held on one day, it’s difficult for them to revise in such a short time. This results in more tension. It would have been better if the exams were conducted over two days. CET is the turning point in students’ career and they will have to perform really well if they want to make it to engineering or medical courses.

Hephzibah Doss, Principal of Bishop Cotton Women’s Christian College:
I think it’s ok to have one day exam. Previous year also they had conducted one day exam and it went on well. To cut down on delays, it is better to have one-day examination.

Chandrakala T R, Mathematics lecturer, MLA PU College:
It’s not fair to have all four papers in one day. We should not conduct the exam for the sake of it. We should keep the students’ interest in mind before conducting the exam. In fact, I was shocked when I read in papers that it is a single day CET. The II PU students struggle so much from the beginning of the year, at least they could have given one more day for CET.

Anil Kumar, Mathematics lecturer, Cathedral Composite PU College:
One day exam is strenuous.  We cannot compare CET with other examinations. If we look into other competitive exams, it is conducted either for engineering or medical. Whereas CET is conducted for both medical and engineering. Another advantage of conducting two day exam is if the student has not performed well in one paper, he can try to better in other papers.

Chandrashekharappa B R, Botany lecturer, Surana College:
I think students will find it difficult if all the the four subjects are held on a single day as the questions appearing for the CET includes from I and II PU syllabi. It may benefit the PCM students but definitely not those students who are looking at medical. Moreover, if it is two day exam students can relax and also if they have any clarification they can get it cleared from the teachers.

However, I feel that students should be informed in the beginning itself so that they can be mentally prepared to take the exams.

Prof V Srinivasan, Principal of Vijaya Composite PU college:
Conducting one day CET is not desirable. It’s better to revert back to the old system of having exams on two days. CET is very difficult and requires a lot of preparation. One day exam will add more mental stress. If they do not perform well in one paper, they may not be able to concentrate on the others.