At least 11 students from as many states have moved to the Supreme Court petitioning for the postponement of JEE Main (April) 2020 and NEET 2020 examination scheduled to be conducted in the month of September, reports Bar and Bench.
The petition said that the entrance exams should be conducted when the situation of COVID-19 is under control and normalcy is achieved. The petition also said that the government’s decisions to conduct the exam was “utterly arbitrary, whimsical and violative of the students’ fundamental right to life”, adds the report.
Earlier a group of parents had written to the MHRD requesting for the postponement of the exams to December due to the COVID-19 situation and lack of enough exam centres. The letter had said that the lack of enough centres would make it difficult to maintain proper physical distancing protocol.
The petition filed by the students said, “Conducting the aforesaid examination across India at such perilous time, is nothing else but putting lives of lakhs of young students at utmost risk and danger of disease and death.” The urged the Supreme Court to direct the testing agency to conduct the exam only when the situation is feasible.
The petition also pointed out the financial burden on the parents if the exams are conducted in the month of September. LiveLaw.in reports that the petition said, “In such a situation, further burdening them with the cost of Transportation, Accommodation and Medical Treatment of their wards, for appearing in the examinations is utterly unjust, unfair and unwarranted,”
The petition also said that the decision to conduct the exam is especially unfair to students from Assam and Bihar which have been flood-ravaged. The petitioner cited the decisions by CBSE, ICSE, and various law and chartered accountancy tests which have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 situation and demanded parity with them.
The JEE Main exam which was initially scheduled to be conducted in April but was postponed for July and then is now scheduled to be conducted from September 1 to September 6. NEET 2020 was scheduled for May but was also postponed for July first and then now will be conducted on September 13.
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