West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday urged opposition chief ministers to together move the Supreme Court for postponing the NEET and JEE exams.
She was speaking at the virtual meeting of chief ministers of opposition-ruled states convened by Congress President Sonia Gandhi. “This will be my request to all state governments, let us do it together, let us go to Supreme Court and postpone the exam for the time being until and unless the situation allows students to sit for exam (JEE/NEET),” she was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
Banerjee had also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, urging the Centre to make an appeal to the Supreme Court to review its decision.
The top court had last week dismissed a plea seeking postponement of the two exams amid an increase in the number of Covid-19 cases, saying precious year of students “cannot be wasted” and life has to go on.
While the Joint Entrance Examination (Main) is scheduled from 1-6 September, NEET-UG is scheduled for 13 September.
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There have been growing calls for the postponement of Joint Entrance Examination (Main) and the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) with several opposition leaders appealing the Centre.
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday reiterated his demand that the exams be postponed and the central government work on alternative methods for selecting students.
While a total of 9.53 lakh candidates have registered for JEE Main, 15.97 lakh students have registered for NEET, according to PTI.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also tweeted that NEET and JEE aspirants are worried about their future and health. He urged the Centre to listen to them and find an acceptable solution.
Members of Congress’ youth wing also staged a protest in Delhi on Wednesday, demanding postponement of the JEE and NEET exams.
The national president of IYC, Srinivas BV, said that keeping in mind the safety of lakhs of students, the Central government should postpone the exams.
“At a time when even Union ministers and chief ministers are getting infected with the coronavirus, it is unthinkable that the Centre is not postponing the JEE and NEET examinations,” he said, according to PTI.
Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal on Tuesday told DD News in an interview that the Centre decided to go ahead with the exams because of “constant pressure from parents and students”.
Meanwhile, the National Testing Agency (NTA) has announced a number of steps it will take to safely conduct the exams. The NTA said number of exam centres has been increased, entry and exit of candidates will be staggered and arrangements have been made to ensure social distancing while candidates wait outside the centres.
(With PTI inputs)