Students worried as SC nixes plea to postpone JEE, NEET

appearing for JEE and NEET examinations see no end to their tensions, caused first by the Covi-19 pandemic wreaking havoc on their future plans, coupled with the constant fear of getting infected while appearing for entrance examinations. Students as well as parents have multiple concerns related to proximity or otherwise of the examination centre, adequate adherence to standard operating procedures (SOPS), and the fate of students who might get infected during the examination.

The Supreme Court recently refused to defer the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and JEE (Main) examinations.

Gaurav Vats, a student from Sonipat who successfully passed CBSE Class 12 examinations this year with 93.8%, told The Sunday Guardian that even after precautionary measures were announced before conducting the BED entrance examination in Agra, a surge of 38 fresh cases were reported after 20,000 students appeared for the examination.

On 22 July, five of more than 88,000 students, who took up the Kerala Engineering Architecture Medical (KEAM) examination, tested positive for Covid-19. “Looking at how poorly SOPS are being implemented in all examination centres, postponement would have been better,” said Aditi Yadav, a 97% scorer from Ghaziabad, who has been taking coaching for JEE.

This year, the JEE Mains admit card includes an advisory and certain instructions, like carrying a