Bengaluru City University (BCU) caused widespread confusion by first rescheduling its undergraduate first-semester exam from 9:30 AM to 2:00 PM on January 16, only to later postpone the exam indefinitely. The abrupt changes, announced last-minute, left thousands of students frustrated, particularly those preparing for the Chartered Accountancy (CA) foundation exams scheduled for the same afternoon.

The initial notification, issued on January 10 at 4:30 PM, created an unavoidable timing clash with the CA exam. Hours later, the university issued another update postponing the exams indefinitely, citing only “unavoidable reasons” but failing to provide any clarity on a new schedule.

A BCom student preparing for the CA foundation exams sought help from former education minister S Suresh Kumar, highlighting the stress caused by the unexpected changes. Kumar immediately approached Higher Education Minister Dr. MC Sudhakar to address the issue.

This isn’t the first time such conflicts have arisen. Despite the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) announcing its exam schedule in September, BCU released its timetable only on December 13, resulting in overlapping exam dates.

The repeated scheduling conflicts and lack of coordination have drawn sharp criticism, with students demanding better planning to avoid such disruptions in the future.