Coronavirus Task Force opposes changing national exam date; entrance exam will be held on schedule
The Ministers of Health and Science said in a joint statement on Tuesday, August 11, that due to the opposition of the Corona Headquarters to changing the date of the national exam (Kankor), the exam will be held on the previously approved date, i.e. August 19 to September 1.
The Ministers of Health and Science say that the National Coronavirus Management Headquarters has opposed any changes to the timing of the national entrance exam.
According to IRNA, a statement by Health Minister Hassan Namaki and Science Minister Mansour Gholami stated: "Following the announcement of the need for more time to hold the national exam by the administrators of the national university entrance exam with the intention of finding a suitable space to hold it in accordance with strict protocols, subject to approval of the change in date by the National Coronavirus Management Headquarters," "This change was not approved by the headquarters for numerous reasons."
The statement added: "It was decided that, in cooperation with the governors, educational, cultural, sports, military and law enforcement centers, the lack of spaces and equipment needed to implement and enforce the protocols will be provided and the nationwide exam will be held on the date previously approved by the National Corona Management Headquarters (on August 19-20 and 21 and September 1). "
Iran's Ministries of Science and Health had previously called for a one-month postponement of the national entrance exam to ensure conditions and strict implementation of health protocols.
While Hassan Namaki and Mansour Gholami have announced that the entrance exam will be held at the previously scheduled time, the Iranian Minister of Science, Research, and Technology said yesterday that the entire entrance exam has been postponed.
Mansour Gholami also said that the National Coronavirus Management Headquarters will announce the date for the entrance exam.
The insistence on postponing the national entrance exam intensified after the 2019 master's degree exam was held on August 6 and news that health protocols were not being followed in the exam areas.
Hossein Ali Shahriari, head of the Parliament's Health and Medical Commission, said in an interview with the Young Journalists Club: "Based on field investigations, objective evidence, and various contacts with the Parliament's Health Commission, strict implementation of protocols to protect the health of candidates and prevent them from contracting the coronavirus in the master's degree entrance exam and the medical assistant exam has not been carried out."
After similar news was published, the Ministry of Health set stricter protocols for holding the entrance exam before the Testing Organization and the Ministry of Science.
Regarding the Ministry of Health's conditions for holding the national entrance exam, the head of the Testing Organization told ISNA: "The first condition of the Ministry of Health was that the distance between the seats should be increased to two meters, and it was not possible for us to provide a space with these conditions."
He added: "The second condition of the Ministry of Health was that in tropical provinces, halls must have an occupancy level of 20 percent, which was also not possible for us given the capacity of the entrance exam centers."
The spokesman for the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Health and Medical Services also said regarding Mansour Gholami's statements about postponing the entrance exam: "The Minister of Science and the head of the Testing Organization expressed their inability to comply with the protocols with such strictness, and given the representatives' emphasis on strict adherence to health protocols in the national exam, the Minister of Health announced that the entrance exam will be postponed."
The 2020 national entrance exam, with the participation of 1,393,031 candidates, is scheduled to be held on August 29, 30, and 31 and September 1 in 3,000 exam centers.
Source: Radio Farda
