NEET, JEE Exam 2020 Not to be postponed: Govt.
NEW DELHI : The Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) – for admission to IITs – and National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) – for admission to medical courses will go ahead as scheduled, government sources said today, days after the Supreme Court dismissed a petition by students to defer the exams due to the COVID-19 crisis.
NEET 2020 is scheduled for September 13 while the JEE Mains is to be held between September 1 to September 6. Both of these exams have been postponed a number of times due to the ongoing corona virus pandemic.
Amit Khare, Secretary, Ministry of Education has confirmed that the entrance examinations cannot be postponed.
Referring to the Apex Court order, he has stated that the SC was very clear in its order and the examinations cannot be postponed. National Testing Agency, NTA has also release a clarification confirming the same.
In the letter tweeted by NTA, the agency also clarified that the examination centres for students were changed as per request and further requests were also being catered to.
Apart from this, elaborate precautions have also been taken for the safety of the students.
Admit cards for the JEE (Main) exam have already been issued by the National Testing Agency (NTA) and around 6.5 lakh students (of the nearly 8.6 lakh who had registered) have downloaded them, the sources added.
The plea for postponing JEE and NEET 2020 examinations was presented to the Supreme Court. 3 other petitions were also filed, asking the SC to ensure that the examinations were not postponed. Supreme Court had dismissed the petition to postpone the examinations, noting that the exams cannot be indefinitely deferred. Pursuant to that, pleas were sent to the PMO for the same.
Clamour for postponing NEET gained momentum after a student in Tamil Nadu committed suicide, soon after SC’s dismissal of the plea. All students are again urged to please be patient and prepared for the examination. All necessary steps shall be taken for the safety of the students.
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court dismissed a petition seeking the postponement of NEET and the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) scheduled to be held amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Of the total of nearly 16 lakh candidates for this exam, 99.87 per cent were given their preferred choice of cities in which to appear for the exam. On Monday the Supreme Court had said: “The careers of students cannot be put under jeopardy.
Life cannot be stopped. We have to move ahead with all safeguards. Are students ready to waste a whole year? Education should be opened up. Covid may continue for a year more. Are you going to wait another year?”
(With Agency Inputs ).
