Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Friday said they are not demanding cancellation of Joint Entrance Examination-Main (JEE-MAINS) and National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-UG (NEET) exams starting on September 1, but the cases of corona infection are increasing in the whole country. In such circumstances both these examinations should be postponed.
But, the Central Government is stubborn regarding the holding of JEE-main and NEET-UG. It is adamant on taking both exams in the short period. By organising these examinations, at one hand the risk of infection of Covid-19 will increase, the difficulties of the state governments will also increase.
The CM said this in a video conference with Abhishek Manu Singhvi of Congress today. On this occasion, Singhvi told that a review petition has been filed in the Supreme Court for postponement of JEE-Main and NEET-UG. He informed the arguments given in this petition for the postponement of both these examinations.
The CM said all the schools and colleges of the country are closed for the last five months. “The students’ studies are getting affected, but the Central government is adamant about taking the JEE-Main and NEET exams. Earlier both these exams have been postponed in April and June, but now these examinations are going to be taken in a hurry. With the conduct of these exams somewhere, the government is moving towards a big risk. This is a matter of serious concern for all of us. About 34 lakh cases of corona infection have been reported in the country. The death toll has crossed sixty thousand. Currently, there is no effective cure for this epidemic. In such a situation, if there is an incident with the students and their parents due to both these exams, then who will take responsibility for this,” he asked.
The CM said that about 25 lakh students will be involved in JEE-Main and NEET-UG. “But I would like to say that this is not just a matter related to 25 lakh students. Lakhs of girls will also participate in both these exams. These girls will also be accompanied by their parents. Along with this, there will also be drivers of many vehicles. Not only this, many students will go to take exams from far-flung areas. For them, appearing in this examination is not just a matter of one day but is a matter of two-three days. Hotel-lodges are closed. Where will they live in such a situation? This is also a serious issue. In such a situation, if the risk of corona increases for any reason, then the difficulties will increase even more, but the Central government probably has nothing to do with it,” he said.
Soren said conducting examinations in the Corona crisis is dangerous. “In such a situation, the Central Government should have considered the option of conducting both these exams. Consent of State Governments should also be taken in this. But, it seems the Centre has nothing to do with this. It is adamant on taking the exam, ignoring the health and safety of the students. On the basis of JEE Main and NEET, the selected engineering and medical students have a session of four to five years. In such a situation, the opinion of education experts should be taken for time management, so that coordination can be made between studies and sessions, so that students are not harmed in any way,” he added.
He also said the Government is also preparing with regard to how it can be made safe for the students if there are examinations.