The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) has allowed students a one-time opt-out opportunity from ICSI exam December 2020. They can carry forward their candidature to CS June 2021 exams.
ICSI took this decision owing to the COVID-19 situation in the country as many candidates were affected by the ongoing pandemic.
To avail the facility, candidates need to fill an online opt-out form cum self-declaration form available on the ICSE website along with their COVID-19 positive report of any date between November 20,2020 to December 30, 2020.
Candidates failing to submit their medical report will be rejected from availing the facility without giving any prior notice.
The last date to submit the form is January 15, 2021. On receipt of the online form, the candidature of the student for CS December 2020 exam will be cancelled and carried forward to the June 2021 session. The examination fee credit will also be carried forward to the next session.
This is an unique, one-time facility made available to the aspirants.
Changes made in the examination process due to COVID-19
The administration also increased the number of examination centres across the country in different zones, in order to avoid over-crowding on the day of examination. Number of centres have been increased from 172 to 262, as compared to 2019.
All centres are placed outside contamination zones. Additional staff, accommodation, sanitization facilities, and provisions for social distancing are provided at each centre to avoid spread of infections.
Entry of candidates inside examination halls will be done in staggered manner. Seating arrangements at each hall is adequately increased to maintain social distancing. Now, only 12 candidates will be seated per hall as opposed to 25 candidates.
Face masks, hand sanitizers, soap, sodium hypochlorite solution, and other necessary items will be provided at the centres. However, students are required to wear face masks, before entering the hall.
The CS exams were initially scheduled for June 2020, but were postponed, and merged with December, 2020 examinations.
