Throughout the country several protests are going on for the postponement of JEE and NEET examination. On 26th Aug education minister of India Ramesh Pokhriyal said in a video that a large number of candidates and parents wanted the entrance examination to be conducted on time. He also said that as per the order of the Supreme Court of India on conducting JEE and NEET and as per the requests of students and parents, the National Testing Agency (NTA) has decided to conduct the engineering and medical entrance examination. Six ministers of opposition ruled states including Maharashtra, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Punjab, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh have approached the Apex Court on 28th Aug seeking review of its order allowing the centre to conduct the Joint Entrance Examination and National Eligibility cum Entrance Test. Ministers said that they do not want to launch a political criticism or make any valuable judgements of the central government. All they want to do is impress the court the fact that the rise in COVID-19 cases continued to be exponential since April. The situation is grave enough to postpone the exam. On 17th August, the Supreme Court had refused to stay the conduct of medical and engineering entrance exam which is scheduled to take place in September.
Earlier, the education minister had also mentioned that around 7.5 lakh admit cards have been downloaded out of 8.58 lakh registration for JEE Mains. Delhi Congress leaders and workers were detained by police on 28th Aug during a protest against the holding of JEE and NEET exams amid COVID-19 pandemic. Delhi Congress chief said that despite opposition from many states as well as from students and their parents, the centre is not reconsidering its decision, which is unfortunate. On 27th Aug, Jharkhand Chief Minister HemantSoren urged Union Education Minister Ramesh PokhriyalNishank to consider postponement of NEET and JEE in view of the coronavirus pandemic. Former Congress Chief Rahul Gandhi asked the country to unite its voice with lakhs of suffering students. He tweeted “Let’s make the government listen to the students.” In the state of Haryana, Congress leaders and many workers held protests at many places including Karnal, Kaithal, Bhiwani, etc. against the holding off JEE and NEET amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Congress President Sonia Gandhi urged the government to listen to the voices of students on the issue of conducting JEE and NEET and act according to their wishes.
Government has overlooked the problems of most of the students and parents. Most families are facing distress due to the current crisis situation brought by the pandemic. Meanwhile on 27th Aug, over 150 academicians from various universities in India and abroad wrote to Prime Minister Modi saying that delaying in JEE Mains and NEET any further will mean compromising the future of students. As per the government, social distancing would be maintained in conducting the entrance exams as NTA has increased the number of centres this year. As per the standard operations protocols developed by NTA, a reduced number of candidates will be seated in exam rooms to maintain social distancing. Students have asked to use gloves and masks at all times. Apart from the COVID-19 threat there are lots of problems which government is not considering. Those students which are from flood suffering states such as Bihar, Gujarat, Assam or the rain-hit districts of Kerala or from areas such as Jammu and Kashmir facing Internet connectivity will have to struggle more to appear in the entrance examinations. Students from many parts of the country would have to face travelling difficulty due to the lockdown and COVID-19. Public transport facilities have also reduced in the current time. Students Organisations such as AISA, SFI, NSUI, etc. have been holding consistent social media campaigns to demand the postponement of the exams. Bollywood actor SonuSood also demanded for the exam postponement. He tweeted “We should care utmost and not risk the lives of students.” He also said he would make travel arrangements for students who will be facing difficulties in travelling due to flood.
Rajeev Ranjan @ Samacharline