New Delhi: Over 23,000 candidates appearing for the GATE examination in February have joined a petition demanding the exam be postponed in view of the third wave of COVID-19.
The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) is an examination that primarily tests the comprehensive understanding of various undergraduate subjects in engineering and science for admission to the masters programme and recruitment by some public sector companies.
This year the exam is being conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kahargpur from February 4-13.
“With the current third wave, COVID-19 due to its new variant Omicron has spread severely in several states, cities. Several studies including one done by IIT Kanpur predict that the peak of the 3rd wave is expected in early February and the wave will end by April. Therefore, the peak is most likely to coincide with the usual exam dates of GATE,” the petition read.
“If the exam dates are not postponed, the candidates…