The ICAI on 15th June, 2020 came out with a notification for the forthcoming July 2020 exams, giving the students the option to opt-out and appear for November 2020 exams. Should the students defer their CA exams? Let's find out...
The announcement by ICAI on 15th June 2020 regarding the CA exams has made the following points very clear:
Those who want to appear for July 20 exams can appear.
Those who want to defer their Exams can defer.
Opting of Nov 20 exams will not be counted as an attempt loss, it will be treated as First attempt.
Exemption and Old course limit will also get deferred.
Students need to fill a declaration for change in the exam center or opting for Nov-20 exams within the window from 17th June to 20th June.
Exams fees get automatically adjusted if opted for deferral or only differential amount need to be paid for adding exams of the second group in Nov-20.
The Institute will ensure that all the precautions and measures will be taken care of during the conduct of Exams.
Now with this in mind, my personal opinion on what the candidates should do is this:
Appearing or not appearing for the exams is the personal choice of the candidate and no one else can or should try to influence that choice. However, as a general advice, I would ask the candidates to defer and appear for the November 2020 exams if circumstances permit.
The reasons for opting out are: a) The number of cases is on the rise. It is very uncertain whether anyone among the other candidates sitting in the same exam hall is infected or not general advice b) Parents might not allow the candidates to go out and appear for the exams in these times. Human psychology tends to demand some more time in these situations for better clarity of decision-making c) Candidates might not have been able to study attentively during the last 3 months due to the ongoing crisis and the delay in exams. If you are not 100% confident, it does not make any sense to sit in the July term then.
The reasons against opting out are: a) The number of candidates appearing would be less. So mathematically, you have a higher chance of passing both groups. b) Since the number of candidates would be less, physical distancing should not be a problem. c) You would have been sufficiently prepared by now (if you have been regular in studies). It would be better to not let that preparation go waste.
One argument which goes in the minds of the candidates is whether delaying an attempt would have a huge impact on his/her career. Let me make this clear here - IT DOES NOT MATTER AT ALL. The biggest thing which matters is that you become a Chartered Accountant in the least possible attempts. After you land up a job, no one would even care about all these things. So my suggestion to those opting out of the July exams would be not to think about the career impact, but think about the health and safety of not just yourself, albeit your family members also.
Lastly, whatever decision you take must be in your best interests, keeping in mind the spread of the disease in your locality and the area in which your center might be located. You should bear in mind that life is much more precious and valuable than appearing for the CA exams, and it would be absolutely prudent to defer in case of any minuscule health risk whatsoever.
This post only represents the personal views of the author and in no way represents the views of the ICAI
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