CET: Many find maths paper tough

Though the first set of Common Entrance Tests (CET) may have been easy for students owing to their long and hard preparations, it was the short duration of the exam that made most of them uncertain about their performence.

As the students stepped out of the CET centre at St Joseph’s Pre University College after the mathematics exam, there was a mixture of both satisfied and apprehensive faces. One of the students said the paper was  easy for her as majority of the questions were from the PUC syllabus. But she did not have enough time to complete paper.

Kiran, who had also appeared for the CETs in Ahmedabad, said despite having answered all questions he did not have enough time to double check his answers. In the Gujarat CET format, candidates were required to answer only 40 questions in 1 hour and 10 minutes, but here in Karnataka they are required to answer 60 questions in the same time.

 He also added that he is not so confident about how he did as he answered the last few questions very haphazardly.

Rehab  said the exam went well, but the paper was a bit too lengthy. Akriti, another candidate, said she found the Mathematics paper a little tough. Kiran reported overhearing many students after the exam saying many of their answers were merely wild guesses.

Engineering aspirants

Most of the students who spoke to Deccan Herald were engineering seat aspirants. Kiran said he had already written the All India Engineering Entrance Exam (AIEEE).
One of the parents, Asha, said her son was trying for a seat in the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). The reason Akriti wants to do engineering is because it is the most popular course today. But there was one student, Dimpy, who wished to pursue medicine. For this reason she did not prepare much for the mathematics exam and performed well in the biology exam which took place in the morning.

The students also reported being very calm before and during the exam. Akriti added that it is important to be calm during an exam like mathematics, specially because of time constraints.

All these students said they attended tutoring centres for coaching. “It at least gives them a push and puts them in the right track,” said Asha. Students are taught how to take the examination in these classes.