[ad_1]
Nearly 60,000 people – more than twice the number that can fit – have lined up to register for the college entrance exam in October. But the wait is long. At 4.30pm on Friday afternoon, the wait time for those in line was 16 hours and 40 minutes.
Around 5,700 people had managed to register.
– There is a very long and time consuming queue and we are discussing how to handle it, says Peter Honeth, national coordinator of the college entrance examination.
Sorry that the waiting time is so long. The reason is that the system can only handle a certain number of reports per hour. So Peter Honeth thinks that some who have already written the college entrance exam have joined the queue. As is well known, they are not allowed to write the test this year due to restrictions linked to the corona pandemic.
Various problems
There are a total of 27,640 test sites scattered across test sites across the country. By the afternoon, no test site had yet been fully booked.
A digital waiting room was open between 7 and 8 a.m. where queue numbers were drawn. After that, the records are handled in turn. A queue number does not mean a secure testing location, but only when the 450 SEK payment has been made is the venue secured.
The app has also been plagued with a number of glitches. Several people testify on Facebook that after a long time in the queue they were unable to pay, were kicked out, had to queue again, and gave up when they realized they finished last in the queue.
“The technicians are working and investigating and we will return as soon as we know more,” writes the University and University Council (UHR) on Facebook. According to Peter Honeth, around 150 people have been affected by the payment problem and a solution is being found.
Shortly after 8 a.m., the pressure on the system also became so high that he had to stop to catch up.
– It was a controlled break. We try to calibrate that you should be able to receive new records as quickly as possible. Then you ended up on the roof that the system can handle and had to slow down a bit, says Peter Honeth.
There have also been alarms that people may get ahead of the queue, but Andrén tells Expressen that they are aware of the cheaters.
– We are aware of this and we can see who uses this method. We will retaliate against them.
Union of critical students
The Swedish United Student Unions (SFS) criticize the fact that the test will take place in autumn, as regards the risk of spreading the infection and legal certainty. President Simon Edström says he is not surprised that there are problems in the registration process.
– This is almost to be expected when politics overwhelms the experts and with a very small time margin.
Instead, Edström had wanted to see a test next year with more time to prepare.
– This is a selection instrument to decide who should be allowed to study what and when not everyone has the opportunity to participate, it puts the rules of the game out of play, he says.
“For those who need”
This spring’s test was canceled due to the corona pandemic and for the same reason the number of places for the fall test is limited. For a long time it seemed that there would be no test at all this year, but after several tours it was recently decided that the test will take place on Sunday, October 25.
Only people without a valid test result can register and UHR and Peter Honeth have urged anyone who can wait to write the test to refrain this time, given the pressure.
– This round is not for high school students in grades 1 and 2 who want to train on the exam, but for those who really need it, said Peter Honeth earlier this week.
For the vast majority of higher education programs, however, there is no competition for places, but everyone with the right qualifications enters.
Anna Hansson / TT
Niklas Svahn / TT
Places for this year’s college entrance exam are fewer than usual, and those wishing to take the exam can sit in a digital waiting room in the hopes of having a spot for the coveted exam. Photo: Petra Lindell / TT
The university entrance exam is usually taken twice a year, once in the fall and once in the spring.
The college entrance examination is a selection exam that, with good results, provides an additional opportunity in addition to the qualification result to enter a popular higher education. It is written mainly by young people who are about to leave high school.
Typically, around 100,000 people sign up for the college entrance exam each year, 40-45 percent of whom are doing so for the first time.
The validity period of the test results has been extended from five to eight years.
[ad_2]
