West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday (August 24) urged the Centre to postpone NEET, JEE 2020 and said that the exams should not be held until the situation is conducive again. It is to be noted that NEET is scheduled on September 13 and JEE-Mains will be held from September 1-6.
"With the Education Ministry's directive to conduct NEET, JEE 2020 in Sept, I would again appeal to Centre to assess risk & postpone these exams until the situation is conducive again. It's our duty to ensure a safe environment for all our students," CM Banerjee was quoted as saying by ANI.
The West bengal chief minister noted that in her last video conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she had raised objections against the UGC guidelines mandating completion of terminal examinations in Universities/Colleges by the end of September 2020 as it could expose the students to the risk of getting infected with coronavirus COVID-19.
On Sunday (August 23), former Congress president Rahul Gandhi had urged the Centre to listen to the 'Mann Ki Baat' of students and address the concerns of those students who have been demanding postponement of the entrance examinations.
"Today lakhs of students are saying something. Their opinion on JEE, NEET exams should be heard and the government should arrive at an acceptable solution," tweeted Rahul Gandhi.
आज हमारे लाखों छात्र सरकार से कुछ कह रहे हैं। NEET, JEE परीक्षा के बारे में उनकी बात सुनी जानी चाहिए और सरकार को एक सार्थक हल निकालना चाहिए।
GOI must listen to the #StudentsKeMannKiBaat about NEET, JEE exams and arrive at an acceptable solution.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 23, 2020
On Saturday (August 22), Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had also requested the Central government to cancel JEE and NEET admission exams and find an alternative arrangement for admissions due to the prevailing COVID-19 situation.
It may be recalled that on Friday (August 21) the National Testing Agency (NTA) has confirmed that the JEE (Main) exam and NEET (UG) will be held as per scheduled.
