GATE 2022 to be held as per schedule, students trend #NO_GATE_IN_FEB, #postponegate2022

The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) 2022 will be conducted as per schedule on February 5, 6, 12 and 13, 2022. 

Even as the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur has clarified that the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) 2022 is not being postponed or rescheduled and will be conducted as per schedule on February 5, 6, 12 and 13, a majority of the students still want the exam to be postponed in view of the rising COVID-19 cases.  

A growing Twitter thread with issues being faced by GATE 2022 aspirants is doing the rounds on social media. Hashtags #NO_GATE_IN_FEB #postponegate2022 #delayGATE22 began to trend on Twitter as many appealed to postpone the exam. The tweet has received 235 likes and the thread is quickly going viral.  

Students have given reasons for demanding delay in exam date on Twitter. They tweeted issues faced by GATE 2022 aspirants.  

1. Many students and their family have tested positive for COVID and are in quarantine. They will miss GATE exam (which is conducted once a year). And their one year will be wasted.
2. IIT-KGP has not increased the number of exam centers. Clearly flouting social distancing norms and endangering the lives of students. They are risking the lives of students and their families as they are at risk of getting infected with COVID.
3. COVID 3rd wave will peak in the end of this month or in 1st week ofFebruary(as per statistical study of IISC and IITs) and GATE exam starting from 4th Feb IIT can conduct GATE after pandemic situation improves (estimated by the end of Feb 2022)
4. Many students have relocated to their hometown, due to the shutdown of colleges because of the pandemic. IITKgpmust give opportunity to students to reselect their exam centers considering the travel restrictions due to COVID. 
5. Many PSUs Recruit through GATE and they have an age limit, if any aspirant tests positive then he/she will not be allowed to attempt the exam according toorganisingcommittee’s guidelines and might become ineligible for the recruitment. 

Earlier, more than 23,000 GATE aspirants had joined a petition demanding the exam be postponed in view of the rising COVID-19 cases across the country.  

The petition stated that the new variant of COVID-19, Omicron, has spread severely across many states of India. Likely to be the third wave of the pandemic, several studies, including the one done by IIT Kanpur, suggested that the peak of the wave is expected in early February and will last till April 2022. The suggested time of the peak is coinciding with the GATE 2022. 

Referring to the same, the petition suggested further that if the GATE 2022 exam dates are not postponed, the candidates appearing in the exam will be exposed to the imminent risk of getting infected. Further, it may spread to their family members and may become a threat to their life. 

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