‘Can’t waste a year’: SC rejects NEET, JEE delay

THE BENCH SAID ‘LIFE HAS TO GO ON’ DESPITE THE OUTBREAK OF THE VIRAL DISEASE AND THAT THE COURT CAN’T PUT THE CAREER OF STUDENTS IN JEOPARDY

nNEW DELHI: The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for students seeking admission to medical and dental courses and the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) for those aspiring to join top engineering schools will be held on schedule in September after the Supreme Court on Monday rejected a plea seeking postponement of the two entrance tests in the backdrop of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

A three-judge bench headed by justice Arun Mishra said “life has to go on” despite the outbreak of the viral disease and the court cannot put the career of students in jeopardy by interfering with the decision of the National Testing Agency (NTA) to hold the examinations in September.

“Life has to move on even in Covid times. Covid may continue but postponement of exams is a loss for the country. Are you (petitioners) ready to waste a whole year?” justice Mishra asked the petitioners’ counsel, Alakh Alok Srivastava.

The petition, which was filed on August 7 by 11 students who are planning to appear for JEE/ NEET, sought postponement of the exams until after the Covid-19 crisis has passed.

JEE is scheduled to be held from September 1 to 6 and NEET for September 13. JEE and NEET, which were initially scheduled to be held in April and May, respectively, were postponed because of the Covid-19 outbreak. Last year, around 960,000 students appeared for JEE and over 1.4 million for NEET. The postponement of the exams has already disrupted the academic calendars of engineering and medical colleges across India.

When contacted, Prof Lalit Kumar Awasthi, director of NIT, Jalandhar, said, “The students and their parents face a lot of pressure as they prepare for these exams. It is important that they are held so that the aca