NEET, JEE Exams 2020: HRD Ministry forms panel, asks committee to submit report by Friday

The minister said that committee will make its recommendations based on which decision will be taken.

NEET, JEE Exams 2020: The HRD Ministry on Thursday formed a panel to review the Coronavirus situation for conduct of entrance exams of NEET and JEE. Informing about the move, HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal said that he had been receiving messages from students and parents from across the country through various channels that the exams should be deferred considering the current coronavirus situation.

He said that keeping the requests in mind, the ministry has decided to form a panel under the Director General of National Testing agency to review the situation and inform it by tomorrow (Friday). In a video message, the minister said that the committee will make its recommendations based on which any concrete decision can be taken.

Later in a tweet, the HRD ministry said: “Looking at the prevailing circumstances and requests received from students and parents appearing for JEE and NEET examinations, a committee consisting of DG-NTA and other experts has been advised to review the situation and submit its recommendations to HRD Ministry latest by tomorrow (Friday).”

In the wake of Covid-19 situation, a number of examinations have either been postponed or cancelled. In various states, board exams have been cancelled and students have been promoted automatically. However, entrance examinations are deferred considering rising coronavirus infections in the country.

India is among the five worst-affected countries in the world. The number of infection cases has gone over six lakh with close to 18,000 fatalities. The country has so far reported over 3.6 lakh recoveries. The worst-hit states are Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. Maharashtra alone has over 1.8 lakh cases while Tamil Nadu has over 94,000 cases. Delhi is also not very far behind and has reported lose to 90,000 cases.