'Postpone NEET if classes won't start till 2021 amid COVID crisis,' says Subramanian Swamy

Amid calls for the postponement of the prestigious NEET and JEE exam due to Coronavirus, Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy said that there is no reason to not delay the entrance exam if the regular classes will not resume till January 2021. Taking to Twitter, he tweeted that now it has already been decided that colleges and institutes will re-open in January 2021 then what is the need to schedule exams amid COVID-19. He said that exams can be scheduled after Diwali when the weather is good and the threat of Coronavirus will also be lesser.

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"Postpone NEET after Diwali"

After repeated discussions, September 13 was the date decided for the NEET exams by NTA. Approximately 15.987 lakh students have registered for NEET and JEE, a pen-paper based test. This year, keeping Coronavirus situation in mind, the National Testing Agency (NTA) decided to increase the number of test centres from 2,546 to 3,843. The centres were increased to make sure that proper social distancing can be followed during the pandemic and safety of the students is ensured. Several questions were raised on the decision to conduct NEET and JEE exams during the pandemic. 

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Despite Subramanian Swamy's suggestion to postpone the NEET exam after Diwali as no college or institutes will re-open before January 2020, no announcement has been made to shift the schedule of the exam. As of now, the NEET exam will be held on September 13. The test centres have ensured proper safe entry and exit of the students by maintaining proper social distancing. 

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Coronavirus situation in India

COVID-19 cases continue to increase across the globe. So far, 42,80,422 positive cases have been recorded in India out of which 72,775 have lost the battle against the pandemic. As per the latest reports shared by MOHFW shared on September 8, in the past 24 hours, 75809 new Coronavirus cases and 1133 more deaths have been reported. Tally of people who have recovered from the infection in India so far is 1133 and currently, active cases are 8,83,697. As per the latest data shared by ICMR, 10,98,621 Coronavirus tests were conducted on Monday. 

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