Rahul Gandhi tweeted, “NEET-JEE aspirants are worried about their health and future”
New Delhi:
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has weighed in on the fierce debate on whether the all-India exams for engineering and medical courses should be held amid the coronavirus pandemic. The centre has said it will press ahead with the JEE and NEET in September as that’s what students and parents have been demanding.
However, several chief ministers and people working in the field of education have raised concerns over the centre’s move to hold the exams as the COVID-19 pandemic is still raging and floods have affected some states.
“NEET-JEE aspirants are worried about their health and future. They have genuine concerns of fear of COVID-19 infection, transport and lodging during pandemic, flood mayhem in Assam and Bihar. GOI must listen to all stakeholders and find an acceptable solution,” Mr Gandhi tweeted on a day when party president Sonia Gandhi and chief ministers including Mamata Banerjee and Captain Amarinder Singh met online.
NEET-JEE aspirants are worried about their health & future.
They have genuine concerns of:
– fear of Covid19 infection
– transport & lodging during pandemic
– flood-mayhem in Assam & Bihar.GOI must listen to all stakeholders & find an acceptable solution.#AntiStudentModiGovt
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 26, 2020
Ms Banerjee suggested they should go to the Supreme Court again to request that the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) and the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) be deferred.
Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has defended the centre’s move to hold the JEE and NEET as a result of “constant pressure from parents and students”. In an interview to the government broadcaster DD News, Mr Nishank said 80 per cent students who will appear for JEE has already downloaded admit cards.
“We have been under constant pressure from parents and students, asking why we are not allowing JEE and NEET. The students were very worried. In their minds they were thinking for how long will they continue to study?” the Education Minister told DD News.
Politicians across parties have backed the demand to postpone the exams, highlighting that the move was not only unsafe because of COVID-19, but also unjust due to floods in parts of some states such as Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Kerala and Karnataka, among others.
