Technical issue with Remote session exam. Did anyone else face the same issue?

I was meant to take the AFM exam at 2:30pm IST today. Despite trying to launch the exam at 2:00pm, I have had no luck. I was being put in que (over 350+ position) for my exam to launch. And once it was my turn, I would get a message saying there was a connection issue and would put me back again in the queue.

After trying for nearly 2 hours, I finally had a pop-up message from the invigilator saying there was an issue with the webcam and that I must re-launch the OnVue app. I spoke to the tech support team as well (4 times on and that too on an international call). The team said, “there is a “technically issue” in India as they have lots of students trying to login and there is also congestion due to heavy rains. I should keep trying until the exam ends. And if the problem persists, I have no option but to withdraw from the exam and re-schedule for the next session, which would be 3 months later”. Accordingly I kept trying to launch the exam for the entire 3:20 window but unfortunately had no luck. I did connect with numerous other students from India who had the same issue.

My point being, ACCA has been hosting remote sessions for nearly a year now. It is so not right to say that there are technical issues due to heavy traffic. I mean, considering ACCA is such an esteemed and professional body, I would have expected them to have a certain level of planning and contingency plans. You already knew the number of students planning to take the exams, you accordingly should have upgraded your systems and the network!

Simply stating that the student must reschedule an exam for the next session which will be conducted 3 months later is just not right. As such exams are quite challenging, having to go through sleepless nights and preparing all over is nothing less than mentally exhausting and much severe pain. I simply am not ready to go through the cycle all over and reschedule to the next session. And even if I agree to re-schedule, what guarantee do I have that such “technical issues” will not be repeated. I mean, at the very least you can allow candidates to re-book the exam within a day’s time or a week. Preparing all over is no joke and I certainly am not up for it.

It is such a shame that I am unable to re-book the exam now. I also fear that if I have to re-book the exam 3 months later, the issue may persist and again I may end up with the same issue. Also it goes without saying that it greatly impacts my career planning. I just wish you could have allowed students to re-book an exam within a day or week in case of such issues, instead of putting in pain to prepare all over. This is such a setback and a major disappointment. I always took pride in being an ACCA student but unfortunately this incident has truly exhausted and mentally traumatized me.