"This will be my request to all state governments, let us do it together, let us go to Supreme Court & postpone the exam for the time being until and unless the situation allows students to sit for exam (JEE/NEET)," said Banerjee.
Her remarks came dung opposition's meeting being convened by Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi. As the chorus for postponement of NEET & JEE entrance examinations grows louder, the opposition parties have put up a united front to raise concerns over conducting tests at a time when India is reporting record number of single-day cases of Covid-19.
. Even as the National Testing Agency on Tuesday night confirmed that the examination will be conducted as per schedule, Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi is holding a virtual meeting with Congress-ruled states and their counterparts of West Bengal, Maharashtra and Jharkhand to discuss the issue.
Also Read: JEE, NEET 2020 Exams To Be Held As Per Schedule, Confirms NTA Amid Postponement Requests
Will the united front of opposition be able to convince the centre for deferment of exams?
The demand for postponement of examination is going on since over a month now. After the Supreme Court verdict, which quashed the petition seeking the postponement, NTA has released guidelines for the conduct of the test. However, the students and parents remain a concerned lot, due to the prevailing circumstances in the wake of Covid-19. Right from travel norms, to restrictions in different states, travel to city of exam centre from hometowns, safe fooding and lodging issues, conveyance to and from centre, are some of the issues which make students apprehensive of the process.
Must Check | NEET Admit Card Release: NTA To Release NEET Admit Cards Shortly
Several ministers have been opposing the Centre's decision to conduct the exams. Earlier in the day, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging the Central Government to consider filing a review petition in the Supreme Court over the dates of NEET and JEE examinations. However, since the NTA said that the exams will be held as per schedule, the prospects of postponement seem dim now.
Sonia will also discuss the issues related to Goods and Services Tax (GST) dues of states.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) announced that the JEE (Main) will be held from September 1 to 6 and NEET (UG) on September 13 after the Supreme Court dismissed a petition seeking the postponement of the NEET and JEE.
Subramanian Swamy too has written to the Prime Minister, regarding deferment of the examination.
What NTA said in the statement last night:
In a fresh public notice issued on Tuesday evening, the central testing authority stated that in view of the academic interest of the students, the JEE (Main) and NEET (UG), which were earlier scheduled to be held in the month of July, have now scheduled to be held in September.
As per the latest development, the JEE (Mains) 2020 examination for admission to engineering colleges will be conducted from 1 to 6 September, while the NEET (UG)-2020 examination is scheduled on 13th September.
NTA in its notice marked the Supreme Court's verdict which observed that " there is absolutely no justification in the prayer made for postponement of the examination in question relating to NEET UG-2020 as well as JEE (Main) April, 2020."
The authority further said that it has ensured that more than 99 per cent candidates get their first choice of Centre Cities in both of these examinations.
Also Watch | JEE NEET exams: Opinion divided over postponement of examination
Education Loan Information:
Calculate Education Loan EMI