The upcoming Lok Sabha elections has gotten Chartered Accountant (CA) aspirants in a tide, with many of them demanding the exams to be postponed to June. The CA 2024 exams are scheduled to begin on May 3 and will end on May 16, which coincides with the Lok Sabha elections.
The aspirants have taken to social media to urge the ICAI to postpone the exams till after the elections. They had also written an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the same.
The letter read, “the election crowd gathering creates a traffic jam in the city restricting/limiting the movement of transportation, or loudspeakers or campaigning nearby exam centre is so loud, that the students may not be able to concentrate on writing exams.”
The Delhi High Court will hear the petition to postpone the CA exams 2024 on April 8, 2024.
The issue also goes beyond the outdoor constraints, aspirants have also claimed that many of them might not be able to vote even. “Some of my friends don't have a centre in their hometown, so they have chosen Patna as their centre. Now, it's impossible for them to travel to and fro to vote,” said Deepak Agarwal, a CA Aspirant from Patna.
Another student, Raj Singh Vaidya, CA Aspirant from Mumbai claimed that many coaching institutes in the city had told their students that the exam will surely be after the elections. He said, “I was told by my teachers that just like the exams got postponed in 2014 and 2019 due to the elections, the same will happen this time as well. In fact, we were all taught keeping the June date in mind.” When asked if he's under-prepared, he replied, “I am actually the kind of student who completes all his syllabus before time so I don't have any problem but the same can't be said about my friends. I know many of them who are sweating it out.”
Manoj Datwani, Co-founder of Concept Mantra Group coaching classes said, “ICAI can make state-wise changes in the exam schedule if the dates of the elections are coinciding with the exam dates in a particular state. This has happened before as well.” Datwani further added that he is positive that the high court will understand the student's pleas and postpone the exams. He further added that if the dates are not changed many students will not be able to reach the centre on time because of the political rallies and will not be permitted inside.
Harsh Damania, a final CA student from Mumbai, said, "A lot of students have applied for a study leave in their company according to this and it won't be adjusted now, I think that is one of the major issues here. I hope they postpone the exam but it should be okay for the Mumbai students since our election dates and exam dates don't clash.”
The same viewpoint was shared by Chirag Bellary of AT Academy, Andheri, Mumbai, “I don't think students from Maharashtra should face any problem, we have a good transport system which will save them from traffic. Also, in my experience I have never encountered any disturbance during election time in Mumbai.” He further added that many students are also looking at the increased preparation time that they will get after the exams are postponed.
CA Exams 2024
Four lakh ICAI students are expected to take exams in May 2024. The Chartered Accountants Regulations, 1988's Regulation 28 F contains the syllabus that ICAI has announced. The Group 1 Intermediate Course Examination will be held on May 3, 5, and May 9, 2024, according to the syllabus. On May 11, 15, and May 17, 2024, the ICAI Group-II Intermediate Course Examination is scheduled to take place. On May 2, 4, and 8, 2024, the ICAI Group-I Final Examination will take place. The dates of the Group II Final Exam are May 10, 14, and May 16, 2024.
The phase three of the Lok Sabha elections is scheduled for May 7, 2024 across 12 states and phase four of the elections is scheduled for May 13 across 10 states. Both the dates fall in between the ICAI CA exams.
