No lockdown for 12 days in Odisha till Sept 14 to ensure smooth conduct of NEET-JEE exams

To ensure smooth conduct of JEE and NEET exams, the Odisha government has said that there will be no lockdown in the entire state for 12 days till September 14. The state government said that there will be no lockdown or shutdown in force from August 30 to September 7 in the first phase and from September 12 to 14 in the next phase.

The move is aimed at facilitating free movement of candidates and their guardians, examination personnel, and staff/representatives of the service providers for the smooth conduct of the exams. However, COVID-19 protocols will have to be strictly followed, the government said.

The JEE is scheduled to be held between September 1 and 6, and the NEET on September 13.

Chief Secretary AK Tripathy has announced that the state government will provide free transport and accommodation to students appearing in the examinations, but they will have to register beforehand to avail this facility. He said 37,000 candidates are likely to sit for the examinations at 26 centres spread across seven towns, including Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.

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Opposition move Supreme Court

Meanwhile, the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, and Shiv Sena on Friday said non-NDA leaders had moved the Supreme Court seeking postponement of NEET and JEE keeping in view the health and safety of students amid rising COVID-19 cases. Ministers of six opposition-ruled states moved the court seeking review of its order permitting the Centre to conduct the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) this year amid the persisting Coronavirus pandemic.

The review plea was filed on Friday in the backdrop of the Supreme Court on August 17 refusing to interfere with the conduct of medical and engineering entrance exams scheduled to take place in September saying that life must go on and students can't lose a precious year due to the pandemic.

Over 100 academicians from various universities in India and abroad have also written to the Prime Minister saying that delaying the medical and engineering entrance exams any further will mean compromising the future of students. 

While the JEE Main examination will be held between September 1 to 6, the NEET examination is scheduled for September 13. The NTA assured all the students of a safe environment in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.

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