NEET (National Eligibility and Entrance Test) and JEE (Joint Entrance Exam) are two of the most prestigious exams of the country conducted by the NTA (National Testing Agency) for Top Medical and Engineering Colleges respectively. Recently in a conversation with the press, the NTA which works under the Ministry of Education claimed that the postponement of exams will lead to a zero academic year and thus is not an option. The exams will be conducted after taking proper precautions. The NEET is scheduled to be conducted on 13th September, 2020 while JEE (Mains) is scheduled from 1st September to 6th September 2020. NTA also said that 99% of the aspirants will be allocated their first preference center so as to remove the hustle of travelling.
Here’s what the Nation has to say about NEET-JEE exams being conducted amid the Pandemic:
- In conversation to Times of India, the mother of an SSLC and CET topper said that Enthusiastic children will suffer the most if competitive exams like NEET and JEE get postponed because not only will they not want to drop a year but they will give up their dream to get into IIT by joining some of the best engineering colleges other than IIT.
- Having said this, The Supreme Court is adamant in not postponing the exams. “We find that there is absolutely no justification in the prayer made for postponement of the examination in question relating to NEET UG-2020 as well as JEE (Main) April 2020. In our opinion, though there is a pandemic situation, ultimately life has to go on and the career of the students cannot be put on peril for long and a full academic year cannot be wasted,” said the Honourable Supreme Court.
- The National head of National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), Neeraj Kundan started an indefinite hunger strike on Wednesday against the conduct of the scheduled Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) during the pandemic.
- Delhi’s Education Minister Manish Sisodia also called for the postponement of NEET and JEE. In a letter to Mr. Ramesh Pokhriyal, he said that he was not calling for a zero academic year but for the government to find an alternative method for selecting students in engineering and medical competitive entrance examinations.
- “We have already lost six months. If we conduct the exams in September, we can at least start the sessions in Indian Institutes of Technology (could be online) in December. Tinkering with the examination pattern or admission processes in these times will also be detrimental and unfair for everyone,” Mr. V. RamGopal Rao, Director of IIT-Delhi said in a social media post.
- “Suppose #JEENEET is put off till December. Suppose #COVID-19 and flood situations remain unabated till then. Another postponement? Then in April? The fresh batch of class 12 will also be out then. Can engineering and medical Colleges accommodate two batches together?” tweeted netizen Rakesh Goswami.
What do I have to Say about This?
With Contradictory opinions from various parents, institutional personals and the government, the decision has been finalised by the SC to not postpone exams. As the moment of writing this blog, according to official information, 9,94,198 students have downloaded the NEET 2020 admit cards and 7,49,408 students have downloaded the JEE Main 2020 admit card, taking the total number to over 17 lakh.
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The very fact that postponing the exams will lead them to merge with the next year batch making the number of seats available same while the number of applicants are doubled will be unfair and unappreciable. So delaying the exams is off the table. Meanwhile the students appearing for the exams are legally adults who can think of their own safety. So the concern of safety can be solved as per the orders of NTA by taking proper precautions.
Sometimes the options to choose from are equally worse, what matters is how you figure out the less bad situation and turn it into a scenario that leaves you with the least scars. The problem is no matter what the government does on this front, a portion of the population will be offended. I believe safety is important, but not at the cost of the careers of lakhs of students. So instead of prepping the students and government on what to do next, we should try to think of the next batch who will appear in the same position next year.
Our actions today cause a ripple effect on the consequences of tomorrow, so the SC decision of conducting the exams in September deems fit as it will allow the IITs to start their classes online by January 2021. But if you feel otherwise we would love to hear your views in the comment section below or on our Social Handles.
