Online problems haunt students

Technical mishaps

With the online seat selection process of the Common Entrance Test (CET) facing major hassles on the first day, students are wondering whether the good old system of going to counselling centres is better than waiting for hours in front of the computer screen.

 Whether it is CBSE, ICSE results or online entrance examinations, all of them have their own set of problems. Metrolife talked to students to know what they think about academic procedures going online.

While some were lucky enough to get through on the first day of the online seat selection process of the CET, many had to wait for an entire day. “It was a good thing that it went online, however it was such a hassle.

I had to wait for an entire day for the page to work. It was only on the second day that I could log in. My friends and I tried to open the page at least thrice but the server was completely jammed and the page refused to open,” informed Karun Varghese, who had appeared for the CET this year.

He added that the State authorities, however, were quick to respond the next day and had put up many new links on the site. “The way they had prepared the CET aspirants for the online seat selection process was pretty impressive.

We were given kits which had brochures to help us with the online process. They guided us through the entire process and it was very convenient, at least we did not have to go to the centres and wait in the long queues,” said Karun.

Deepayan, who had appeared for the CET this year, said that the system overload was a big problem for students. “It was not just the CET. We experienced difficulties when the CBSE results were announced. We had to try at least four to five times before we could log in and check our results.

I had almost expected the same with the CET online seat selection process. My friends called me and said that the web page was not working due to the rush. However, I feel that we were better equipped this time,” he said. 

He also informed  that the CET board had provided every student a CD in English and Kannada to help them with the online seat selection process. “It was a big help for us. I feel that if the boards put up more links for the students to log in on the first day itself, and allot different timings for different zones, it would really help us.

Then the server will function properly,” he added. Some students were lucky enough to get through the first time itself and felt that it was a boon. “It took some time but I got through the CET seat selection process.

 It was a boon in disguise as we did not have to travel to far-off places. I feel if there are more links from  next year onwards, it will reduce the internet traffic and things can be done on time,” he summed up.