The National Testing Agency (NTA) is going ahead with its plans to conduct the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) (Main) April 2020 exam between September 1 and 6 and the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) on September 13, even as several students continue to protest the move.
On Thursday, the Times of India reported that the safety protocol for the exams had been finalised and included points like no frisking, staggered time-slots, verification of documents without direct contact and making candidates carry a self-declaration of health. Those with a body temperature higher than normal will be made to take the test in isolated rooms, the report added.
Meanwhile, several people took to Twitter to register their protest against the move, with hashtags like #postponeNEET_JEE and #NTAPOSTPONEJEE_NEET.
#postponeNEET_JEE
— krishna prakash (@krishna29683396) August 20, 2020
1.Gathering must be avoided in pandemic.
3.We have also seen the other examination,how much SOP was followed.
4.This examination will decide our future. We don't want to die.
5.This is very tough time,in one hand we a virus and pandemic and other.we have flood pic.twitter.com/Y4rnKMwLoh
#postponeNEET_JEE
— Ashutoshindian (@askashu09) August 20, 2020
You are blind #RameshPokhriyalNishank #PMModi @DG_NTA @advocate_alakh pic.twitter.com/g6sCXSLVJY
Putting students under such kind of mental trauma before they go to write their exams is really bad.We are demanding the postponement of the exams until there is state of normalcy, we don't demand cancellation.@DrRPNishank @PMOIndia #RIPSUBHASRI_SAVE30LAKH #postponeNEET_JEE https://t.co/0dKZymOPn3
— Ankita (@Ankita3107) August 20, 2020
I am against exams in covid
— Gurpreet Garry Walia (@_garrywalia) August 20, 2020
Govt stop taking students lives #PostponeJEEAndNEET #RIPSUBHASRI_SAVE30LAKH
Many also pointed to the recent incident in Tamil Nadu where the fear of the upcoming NEET examination allegedly led a girl student to kill herself. The 19-year old resident of Coimbatore was preparing for NEET.
Several politicians across states have also sought that the exams be postponed.
In early August, a plea was moved in the Supreme Court, citing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, to quash and set aside public notices issued by NTA to conduct the exams. The petitioners urged the apex court to give directions to the Centre to conduct JEE and NEET exams only after normalcy is restored in the country.
The plea filed by advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava, on behalf of 11 students from 11 states, said, "The deadly COVID-19 pandemic has already affected about 20 lakh people in India and the situation is worsening with each passing day. Conducting the examination across India at such perilous time, is nothing else but putting the lives of lakhs of young students at utmost risk and danger of disease and death."
However, earlier this week, a three-judge bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra dismissed the plea and said that the career of students "cannot be put under jeopardy for long".
"Life has to go on. Life has to move ahead. Precious year of students cannot be wasted," the Bench said.
IANS inputs