The petition demanding postponement of JEE Main 2020 and NEET 2020 entrance exams has been dismissed by the Supreme Court on Monday saying that life cannot be put on hold due to COVID-19 crisis.
Supreme Court today dismissed a petition seeking the postponement of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), scheduled to be held in September 2020. pic.twitter.com/BPyjn8RlGC
— ANI (@ANI) August 17, 2020
Following the dismissal of the petition by the Supreme Court, both engineering and medical entrance exams will now go on as per the schedule announced by the NTA earlier. The court in its order of dismissing the plea noted that “Career of students cannot be put under jeopardy for long” and therefore it has not decided not to issue any directions to the NTA for postponement of JEE Main 2020 and NEET 2020 entrance exams.
During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta noted that the apex testing agency NTA has been issued special instructions by the MHRD as well as the Health Ministry to take all the necessary steps for smooth conduct of exams amid the pandemic. He also added that the National Testing Agency will implement all the required safeguards to ensure safe conduct of the examination and ensure health and well-being of the aspirants appearing for the examination.
Amid rising number of Coronavirus infection cases across the country, a group of aspirants and parents have approached the apex court demanding further delay or postponement in holding of the exams citing health and safety concerns. The petition has requested that the examination be postponed till the situation normalizes.
Following the filing of plea demanding postponement of the national-level entrance exams, Gujarat Parents Association has also reached out to the apex court seeking relief from any further delay in holding of the entrance exam. The petition says that due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, the entrance exams have been delayed multiple time causing loss of precision time from the academic year for the students. The petition also pointed out that, the constant delay in the examination cause mental stress to students.
