'Only 25% in state appeared for JEE exam due to COVID-19': Mamata Banerjee slams Centre

As the opposition parties traded barbs with the Centre over the scheduling of JEE and NEET exams amid COVID-19, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has claimed that only 25% of the students from the state appeared for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) that was held on Tuesday. She slammed the Centre and called it the “adamant attitude” of the Central Government for conducting the entrance exams amid the pandemic.

"They (students) were not able to attempt the JEE examinations. In other states, more than 50% of the students were not able to appear for it because of the pandemic situation,” Banerjee said while addressing the media.

“Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, we have raised serious concern over the Centre’s decision to hold the termly examination for various courses in colleges and universities and also not to conduct NEET and JEE in September. Unfortunately, the Centre refused to postpone it,” she told the reporters.

She said that the students had requested the Centre to postpone the exams by a few weeks but the Centre turned down the request. "Who has given the right to destroy the careers of students across the country? Why are they so adamant?” she questioned.

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Centre vs Opposition over JEE/NEET exams

Even as the Opposition had been vehemently opposing the Centre's move to conduct the entrance exams in September, the Centre had been of the opinion that they have already been postponed twice in view of the pandemic and any further delay would be playing with the future of the students. Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank had stated that the career of students was the first priority for the Union government. He maintained that one year of the students should not be wasted. Moreover, he quoted the Supreme Court order which found no merit in postponing the JEE and NEET exams.

While the Centre faced criticism from the Opposition and a section of students for conducting JEE Mains and NEET amid the rising COVID-19 cases, over 100 academicians from various universities in India and abroad had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that delaying the medical and engineering entrance exams any further will mean compromising the future of students.

Around 9.53 lakh candidates have registered for JEE-Main examination which will be held between September 1 to 6, while the NEET examination is scheduled for September 13 for which 15.97 lakh students have registered.

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