The Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) and the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) will go ahead on the dates allotted as scheduled as a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court on September 4 rejected a review petition seeking the postponement of exams. Three-judge bench says, “The plea does not merit reconsideration.”
The petition was filed by ministers of six opposition-ruled states against the court’s August 17 order allowing the National Test Agency (NTA) to hold the ongoing NEET and JEE exams that began on September 1. For weeks, many students had protested against these tests, pointing towards India’s growing Covid-19 caseload, likely infection risk, floods and lack of public transport
Following the court decision, the JEE (Joint Entrance Examination) will go on until 6 September, while another hugely competitive exam, the NEET (The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test), will be held on the 13th of the month. JEE Over 8 lakh engineering aspirants are appearing in JEE (Main) exam. The apex court, in its earlier judgment, had upheld the Centre’s decision to hold the competitive examinations and said, “A crucial year of students cannot be wasted and life has to go on” while dismissing the students’ pleas for postponement.
The ministers of six non-BJP-ruled states had said that the Supreme Court’s order failed to secure students’ “right to life” and ignored “teething logistical difficulties” to be faced in conducting the exams during the coronavirus pandemic.
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