NEET-JEE row: Subramanian Swamy demands statewise percentage of students taking exam

Joint Entrance Exam (JEE)-Main for admission to engineering colleges began on Tuesday amid strict precautions and social distancing measures in view of COVID-19 pandemic.  exam will continue till September 6 while NEET 2020 will be held on September 13. decision to go ahead with exams came amid a call from numerous sections to defer exam.

'reafter PM must make a call'

Senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy on Thursday demanded that Ministry of Education must officially publish statewide percent of students who took JEE exam. Swamy, who was against exams being held w, said it will help in administer NEET exams scheduled. Citing reason for his demand, Dr Swamy said,  "This demand is because Ministry publicised % who downloaded admission entry pass. reafter PM must take a call." This comes after it emerged that a large section of students had refrained from taking exam despite having registered for it.

'Students want exams to be held'

Last week, Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal had said that over 17 lakh candidates have already downloaded ir admit cards for JEE and NEET, and this shows that students want exams to be conducted at any cost.

"National Testing ncy (NTA) officials told me that over seven lakh candidates have downloaded JEE-Main admit cards while over 10 lakh aspirants have downloaded NEET admit cards. This shows that students want exams to be held at any cost," Pokhriyal said.

"We have received emails from students and parents who are in favour of holding exams, as y have been preparing for exams for at least two to three years. Supreme Court too opined that a full academic year cant be wasted. After two deferments, exam dates have been finalised," he added.

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Safety measures taken by NTA

Increasing number of examination centres from 570 to 660, alternate seating plans, fewer candidates per room and staggered entry and exit are among steps National Testing ncy (NTA) has taken for safely conducting crucial exam.
"Hand sanitisers are being made available at entrance of examination centre and inside exam hall at all times. usual process of checking admit cards of candidates has been replaced with barcode readers, which have been made available to examination centre authorities," said an NTA official.

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re has been a growing chorus for postponing exams amid rising number of COVID-19 cases. Supreme Court had earlier dismissed a plea seeking postponement of two exams amid a spurt in number of COVID-19 cases, saying a "precious year" of students cant be wasted and life has to go on.

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(With ncy inputs)