NEET, JEE Row LIVE: A day after opposition parties slammed the Centre’s decision to hold NEET and JEE amid the coronavirus pandemic, a call that has seen students across the country up in arms, the Congress has decided to hold nationwide protests against the government’s move in solidarity with the applicants who have expressed worry about lack of transportation and inevitable crowding if the exams are not postponed. The political move comes after a meeting chaired by Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi, which saw chief ministers of Maharashtra, West Bengal and Punjab among others in attendance, urged states to approach the Supreme Court against conducting exams during a pandemic.
Supporting the demand for postponement of NEET and JEE examinations in view of the coronavirus pandemic, seven chief ministers of non-BJP ruled states on Wednesday decided to jointly move the Supreme Court on the issue. Parties like the DMK and AAP also joined the growing chorus against the holding of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) at a time when COVID-19 cases were rising across the country. Batting for the students who are demanding postponement of the exams due to COVID-19, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi urged the central government to listen to their grievances and find an amicable solution. "NEET-JEE aspirants are worried about their health and future. They have genuine concerns of: fear of COVID-19 infection, transport and lodging during pandemic and flood-mayhem in Assam and Bihar," he said on Twitter. "GOI must listen to all stakeholders and find an acceptable solution," he said.
Read More
Aug 27, 2020 8:41 am (IST)
RECAP | After the Ministry of Education's National Testing Agency (NTA) said that Joint Entrance Examination (Main) and the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) will be conducted in September, as scheduled, protests erupted on social media, with candidates seeking the postponement of the exams till the Covid-19 pandemic ebbs and the flood-related situation in many states across the country improves. Applicants have also expressed concerns about issues such as about lack of transportation and inevitable crowding if the exams are not postponed.
Aug 27, 2020 8:34 am (IST)
'Are Exams More Important than Lives of Students?' | “Are exams more important than the lives of the students?” Aspiring candidates for the JEE (Mains)/NEET (UG) examination are up in arms against the Centre’s decision to hold the competitive exams in September despite the health risk posed by the pandemic and the floods. Social media is abuzz with angsty messages against the government. Read more here.
The SC had last week dismissed a plea seeking postponement of the NEET (UG) and JEE exams amid a spike in the number of Covid-19 cases, saying precious year of students
Aug 27, 2020 8:21 am (IST)
Students Download Admit Cards | Over 14 lakh admit cards for the medical and engineering entrance exams --NEET and JEE-- were downloaded after the National Testing Agency (NTA) released them on Wednesday, even as the issue was discussed extensively during a meeting of chief ministers of non-BJP ruled states who decided to jointly move the Supreme Court to seek deferment of these exams. The issue, which has been a matter of intense public discourse for past few months, has evoked contrasting views with many backing the holding of the tests fearing that it may lead to a zero academic year for students, and the Opposition and activists demanding their postponement in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Aug 27, 2020 8:10 am (IST)
7 non-BJP CMs Decide to Jointly Move SC Seeking Postponement of NEET, JEE | Supporting the demand for postponement of NEET and JEE examinations in view of the coronavirus pandemic, seven chief ministers of non-BJP ruled states on Wednesday decided to jointly move the Supreme Court on the issue. Parties like the DMK and the AAP too joined the growing chorus against the holding of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) at a time when COVID-19 cases were rising.
Aug 27, 2020 8:01 am (IST)
'Rise Against Exams in Covid': AISA | Left-affliated student wing AISA called on a protest by students against the NEET, JEE exams being conducted amid the threat of Covid-19, due to which almost 60,000 people in India have till now died since the onset of the outbreak. The body shared a 'black profile picture' to be used and shared by students as a form of online protest.
State units of the Congress will be holding protests on Friday at 11 am in front of central government offices at state and district headquarters, AICC general secretary KC Venugopal said.
Aug 27, 2020 7:42 am (IST)
Delhi Students Share Concerns | An online petition has also been started to urge the Centre to postpone the NEET and the JEE exams till the year-end amid a spurt in coronavirus cases in the country. Till 8.20 pm, 1,08,114 people had signed the petition. Madhu Yadav, a JEE aspirant from Arjangarh, said the exams should be postponed at least by a couple of months so that the number of COVID-19 cases come down. She says: "My centre is in Gurgaon, and my family is under stress over my decision to take the exam. But there is no other alternative because the next chance will only come after six months. It is stressful to think that in some exams conducted recently, the SOP regarding coronavirus was not followed."
Aug 27, 2020 7:33 am (IST)
Delhi Students Speak Against JEE, NEET Exams | A section of students preparing for NEET and JEE here on Wednesday demanded that the tests be postponed, saying there is a shortage of transport facilities to exam centres and cases of COVID-19 are rising. Ankit Jakhania, who is preparing for JEE, said his main concern was the rise in coronavirus cases. He says:
"My exam centre is on Mathura Road and I stay in Aya Nagar. The only problem is the increasing cases of COVID-19. Even though it is being said that social distancing will be ensured, a crowd is expected to gather outside the exam centre. I wear glasses. Writing an exam while wearing a head gear and a mask will be very difficult, especially in hot and humid weather conditions."
Aug 27, 2020 7:18 am (IST)
Congress to Hold Nationwide Protest Today Against NEET, JEE Exams | The Congress on Wednesday announced that it will hold countrywide protests on August 28 to oppose the government's decision to hold NEET, JEE exams during the pandemic. In a statement AICC general secretary KC Venugopal said the move is in line with concerted opposition to this "dictatorial move" of the government. State units of the Congress will be holding protests on Friday at 11 am in front of central government offices at state and district headquarters, he said.
Aug 27, 2020 7:16 am (IST)
Tamil Nadu Opposes Carrying Out NEET, JEE Exams | The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday urged the Centre to dispense with NEET this year and promulgate an ordinance to facilitate admissions to medical and dental courses based on class 12 marks, as it flagged concerns about safety of students in view of COVID-19 pandemic. Holding the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test would put the lives of students at great risk of infection even if all precautions were taken, state Health Minister C Vijayabaskar said in a letter to Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan.
Aug 27, 2020 7:13 am (IST)
Mamata Banerjee, Amarinder Singh May Approach SC | West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday appealed for a joint plea with other state heads before the Supreme Court to postpone the NEET and JEE Mains examinations scheduled for the first week of September even as the coronavirus cases across India continue to rise. Her views were echoed by her Punjab counterpart Amarinder Singh who has asked his state Advocate General to coordinate with his counterparts in other opposition-ruled states for filing a collective review petition in the Supreme Court to seek deferment of the NEET-JEE exams.
Aug 27, 2020 7:11 am (IST)
150 Academicians Write to PM Modi Over NEET, JEE Exams | Over 150 academicians from various universities in India and abroad have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that delaying the medical and engineering entrance exams -- JEE-Mains and NEET -- any further will mean compromising the future of students. Referring to the growing chorus against the conduct of these exams in September in view of the rising COVID-19 cases, the academicians said in their letter, "Some are trying to play with future of students to propel their own political agenda".
Students wearing protective face masks take a Gujarat Common Entrance Test (GUJCET) while maintaining social distance amidst the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, inside a classroom in Ahmedabad. (Reuters)
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia separately said medical and engineering entrance exams NEET and JEE should be postponed and the central government should work on alternative methods for selecting students. "They (Centre) are saying protocols will be followed. Following the same protocols that the Centre wants 28 lakh students to follow, lakhs of Indians have tested positive," the Aam Aadmi Party told reporters. "How can we take the risk of sending 28 lakh students to exam centres and be assured that they will not be infected," Sisodia asked.
The Joint Entrance Examination (Main) and the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG) will be conducted in September as scheduled, the Ministry of Education officials had said on Tuesday. The Supreme Court had last week dismissed a plea seeking postponement of the two exams, saying a "precious" academic year of students "cannot be wasted" and life has to go on. While a total of 9.53 lakh candidates have registered for JEE-Mains, 15.97 lakh students have registered for NEET. The NEET is to be held on September 13 and engineering entrance exam JEE Main is scheduled from September 1-6.
While one section is protesting against the exams, over 100 academicians have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi supporting the government’s decision, "Youths and students are the future of the nation but in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, clouds of uncertainty have gathered over their careers too. There are lot of apprehensions about admission and classes which need to be resolved at the earliest," they said in their letter. Like every year, this year too millions of students have passed their Class 12 exams and are now waiting at home to eagerly take the next step, the letter said. "The government has announced the dates for JEE-Mains and NEET any further delay in conducting the exams will result in waste of precious year for students. The dreams and future of our youth and students cannot be compromised at any cost. However, some are trying to play with the future of our students simply to propel their own political agenda and oppose the government," it said.
The signatories include academicians from the Delhi University, IGNOU, Lucknow University, JNU, BHU, IIT Delhi and Indian academicians from foreign universities such as University of London, University of California, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Ben Gurion University, Israel, among others. "We strongly believe that the central government will successfully conduct the JEE and NEET exams taking full precautions to ensure that the future of students is taken care of and the academic calendar for 2020-21 is rolled out," it added.
LIVE NOW
Live TV
