Congress cadre staged a protest here on Friday against conducting National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) Joint Entrance Exam (JEE).

V. Karthikeyan, a party functionary, said conducting those national-level competitive examinations would cause disparities among students. Many would not even be able to attend the exam due to absence of public transport during the COVID-19 lockdown. “If conducted, it will be like robbing opportunities for students from rural areas to join professinal courses and dashing their dreams,” he said.

Conducting the exams would lead to spread of COVID-19 among students who may become carriers. “It is highly unsafe to conduct the exams now. Families are struggling for sustenance. The added pressure of attending an exam is unnecessary in these hard times,” he said.