Postpone, don’t cancel JEE-NEET, demands Opp
Senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who settled as a senior advocate the review petition filed in the Supreme Court on Friday jointly by the ministers from seven opposition-ruled states challenging its August 17 judgment, has clarified the opposition parties want only postponement of the NEET and JEE entrance exams for admissions in engineering and medical colleges.
He explains the parties are not for cancellation of the entrance exams since it would otherwise waste a year of the aspirants since they would be then able to take the exams the next year. According to him, if the exams could be postponed from April to June and then to August and September, tests can be very well postponed to November and the academic year can start from January 2021.
Singhvi says the review petition suggests both NEET and JEE (Main) can be held in November when the spread of the Coronavirus may subside and the government can utilise the intervening two months to make better arrangements not only about the exam centres, but also transport of the students and their stay in towns and cities, besides increasing the centres with at least one in each district to ensure the students don’t travel long distances and search for accommodation as they could go to the centres straight from their homes.
An application has been also moved with the review petition for its immediate listing on Monday, particularly because the JEE (Main) is to start from Tuesday and the students must know in time if they have to rush for the exams or not, according to Sunil Fernandes, advocate-on-record. Ministers of six states had signed the review petition submitted to the Registry Friday morning while the last to join was from the Congress-ruled Puducherry.
Singhvi explained at a press conference via videoconferencing Friday evening the petitioners come from 7 states where 30% of India’s population reside and which cover 30% land area of the country.
Kapil Sibal blamed the govet for sleeping instead of the time gained from repeated postponement of the exams to create an alternative, a remedial framework instead of now shooting the gun.
This is a petition for postponement, deferral, it is not for cancellation and the fourth part of our review petition, demonstrates how you can start the academic year and complete it successfully without losing a year, even if you postpone it to Nov and decide to start by Jan.
— Abhishek Manu Singhvi