bright future International English Language Testing System British Council YMCA March 23 was an important date for many Amdavadis nurturing dreams to settle abroad to create afor themselves. One of the major steps towards achieving this dream is to appear for the(IELTS) test. On Saturday, however, for scores of candidates, it was a harrowing experience that extended from three to six hours.The IELTS test conducted bythat saw around 700 candidates appear for it atcentre, revealed the exam which was scheduled to begin at 1pm and end at 3.45pm, only started at 1.45pm. The candidates had to sit through till 6.20pm, during which they weren’t even allowed to use the washroom.One of the reasons stated for the delay was a “technical glitch” and mismanagement at the examination centre. The extended number of hours and no access to the washroom added to candidates’ exhaustion, affecting their morale as well as performance. It was also the first time, claim aspirants, that IELTS exam was mismanaged to this level, such that the sequence of Listening, Reading and Writing had to be changed. Why? Because the headphones for listening exam weren’t functioning.“The exam was to start at 1pm, but due to defective headphones, they decided to start with the Reading section first. After we completed the section, the staff went on to check on the headphones which were still not functioning,” said candidate Mamta Patel, who was appearing for IELTS for the first time. “It was disturbing, especially since they charge Rs 12,650 from candidates,” she added.That wasn’t the end of the struggle, though. “Candidates are provided with one answer-sheet for Listening and Reading sections, and since the proper sequence is Listening, Reading and Writing - the same is used for Listening and Reading section. But with the sequence changed, they took our answer-sheet after we completed Reading section, kept it with them for an hour till we completed our Writing section.They returned the sheet to us once we began with the Listening section. What if our answers were tampered with? asked another candidate, Disha. This was her third attempt, but the first time she experienced such chaos at an exam centre. Candidates said that botched- up examination and prep extended the number of hours.“The procedure begins with taking photographs of each candidate before the examination. On Saturday, they forgot to click pictures of around 150 candidates. Six hours later, at 6.20pm, they called back 150 candidates for the picture and kept everyone waiting again. When everyone got out, it was almost a stampede-like situation,” said another candidate. Repeated attempts for a comment from British Council failed.

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