The National Testing Agency (NTA) has recently given its final decision regarding the conduct of exams specifically JEE and NEET entrance exams. The exams will be conducted as per the schedule. Over 4,000 students observed a day-long hunger strike to press for the demand given rising coronavirus cases.
Using the #SATYAGRAHagainstExamInCovid, students took to Twitter to urge the government to heed to their demands.
Manoj S, a JEE aspirant from Karnataka, said, “We have to report to the JEE exam centre at 7 am. My centre is almost 150 kilometres away and there are no train or bus services available currently. “Many of my friends have said that their centres are 200 to 250 kilometres away. How are we supposed to travel? How will we write exams wearing masks for seven to eight hours?”
Anisha, hailing from Odisha, said with all the hotels and guest houses closed, where would they stay in case they have to travel for exams.
“I am from Balasore and my NEET exam centre is in Bhubaneswar. I will have to travel for five hours to take my exam. There are no hotels or guesthouses that are open. Where will we stay?” she Anisha as reported by PTI.
Md Danish Khan from Bhagalpur in Bihar said he has been “allotted an exam centre in Patna, which is a COVID-19 hotspot”. “I do not want to risk the lives of my relatives by staying at their place when I go to take the exam. I also stay in a joint family and if I contract the virus, it will create a chain of infection,” he said.
A Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) aspirant from Kolkata, who requested anonymity, said she fears for her parents’ safety during this time. “My father is a diabetic and my mother just had an operation for a tumour. Even if they go to drop me to the exam centre using public transport, I will be putting them at risk. The government is not ready to listen to us. We will have to sit and write the exams wearing masks, gloves and headgear under hot weather conditions,” she said.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has appealed from the Central government to cancel medical and engineering entrance exams JEE and NEET because of rising coronavirus cases in the country.
India has reported 61,408 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, 57,468 recoveries, and 836 deaths in the last 24 hours. With this, the total coronavirus tally has mounted to 31,06,349 including 23,38,036 cured/discharged/migrated cases & 57,542 deaths, according to the Union Ministry of Health.
