Published 16:16 IST, August 23rd 2020
Congress' Adhir Chowdhury urges PM Modi to postpone JEE & NEET exams citing COVID threat
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury urged PM Modi to postpone the JEE and NEET exams amid the COVID-19 crisis
On Sunday, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to postpone the JEE and NEET exams amid the COVID-19 crisis. Pointing out that the novel coronavirus infection was surging by the day, Chowdhury contended that the exam aspirants are under tremendous pressure. According to him, the concern of the students should be given due consideration during the COVID-19 period.
Mentioning that approximately 25 lakh students are scheduled to appear for these exams, the Congress leader stated that it is imperative to review the exam dates. He opined that the PM's wisdom can bring relief to the anxious aspirants. While the JEE Main examination will be held between September 1 to 6, the JEE Advanced exam shall take place on September 27. On the other hand, the NEET examination is scheduled for September 13.
NSUI issues appeal on exams
Congress' student wing National Students' Union of India on Friday made a similar appeal to the PM. In his letter to PM Modi, NSUI president Neeraj Kundan questioned the fate of COVID-19 positive students, who will be unable to appear for exams. Recalling the novel coronavirus cases detected during the conduct of exams in Karnataka, he predicted that a "man-made disaster" is on the cards if social distancing is not maintained. Moreover, he suggested that final year students should be promoted on the basis of previous performance.
The novel coronavirus crisis in India
Currently, there are 30,44,940 confirmed novel coronavirus cases in India out of which 22,80,566 patients have recovered while 56,706 fatalities have been reported. At present, there are 7,07,668 active cases. With 57,989 COVID-19 patients getting cured in the last 24 hours, the country's recovery rate stands at nearly 75%.
Furthermore, the difference between the recovered and active cases has soared to 15,72,898. Meanwhile, the case fatality rate remains constant at 1.86%. After 8,01,147 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, the number of tests done in India has increased to 3,52,92,220. The number of COVID-19 testing labs rose to 1515 including 983 labs in the government sector and 532 private labs.
Updated 16:16 IST, August 23rd 2020