New Delhi: Amid the growing number of Covid-19 cases across the country, the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) have been postponed again.
The JEE Mains examination will now be held from 1-6 September, while NEET will be held on 13 September. JEE Advanced, which is conducted by the IITs, and will be held on 27 September, Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ announced Friday.
The exams had been rescheduled to July from their usual April-May slots due to the Covid-19 pandemic — with NEET to be held on 26 July and JEE (Mains) to be held between 18 and 23 July.
Also read: Stranded in lockdown, Kolkata NEET aspirant finds new family in Delhi Police ASI’s home
Demands fulfilled
There was a growing demand from students and parents to postpone the NEET and JEE exams amid the rising numbers of Covid-19 cases across the country, especially in Delhi and Mumbai.
Students had been writing online petitions and running campaigns on Twitter with the hashtag #RIPNA, requesting the government to postpone the exams.
The ministry Thursday had asked a committee comprising members of the National Testing Agency (NTA) and other experts to give their opinion on the feasibility of conducting exams amid the pandemic.
The committee submitted its report Friday and advised against holding the exams in July.
“Keeping in mind the safety of students, the expert committee has suggested that NEET and JEE exams should be postponed for now. Exams will now be held in the month of September,” the minister said in a video message shared on his Twitter account.
Keeping in mind the safety of students and to ensure quality education we have decided to postpone #JEE & #NEET examinations. JEE Main examination will be held between 1st-6th Sept, JEE advanced exam will be held on 27th Sept & NEET examination will be held on 13th Sept. pic.twitter.com/klTjtBxvuw
— Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (@DrRPNishank) July 3, 2020
Parents of nearly 4,000 non-resident Indian students had filed a petition with the Supreme Court, asking the government to postpone NEET as there are no centres outside India and international travel is still restricted.
“Students are helpless to write the examination as international travel is banned to and from India. Assuming that they have seats in ‘Vande Bharat Mission’ flights, the students will be exposed to Covid-19 risks, as also they would have to undergo quarantine on their arrival in India,” the parents, represented by advocates Haris Beeran and Pallavi Pratap, said in their petition.
Also read: Sonia Gandhi writes to PM Modi over ‘denial of reservations’ to OBCs under NEET quota