JEE, NEET 2020: Greta Thunberg joins students, political leaders for postponing of exams – 10 updates

The NEET, JEE 2020 exams are scheduled to take place in the month of September. Following that, the National Testing Agency (NTA) released a fresh set of guidelines for the candidates appearing for the examinations in the wake of novel coronavirus pandemic.

However, the chorus for postponing various examinations, including NEET and JEE, grew louder in view of rising Covid-19 cases. Several students and political leaders across the country, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and DMK President M K Stalin, have urged the central government to postpone the examination until the virus situation was brought under control.

The latest to join the concern is Swedish teen climate change campaigner Greta Thunberg who threw her weight behind postponing the competitive exams.

Here are the major updates on the NEET, JEE 2020 debate:

1.The fresh guidelines in order to conduct JEE, NEET 2020 exams came after the NTA issued admit cards for the two exams scheduled to be held in September.

2.Among the instructions, students are instructed to carry a personal bottle of water and hand sanitizer to the exam centre as well as maintain social distancing.

3.Apart from these items, only the Admit Card will be allowed inside the examination centre. However, the candidate will be required to remove the mask worn by him or her from home, and "use the mask provided at centre only."

4.For those candidates who have a temperature higher than 99.4 degrees Fahrenheit, they will be taken to Isolation Room. All processes of frisking and document verification will be done after a period of 15-20 minutes. In this time their temperature may become even normal, if not they will be allowed to take the examination alone in a separate room, the notification further stated.

5.Greta Thunberg was the latest to join chorus of postponing the exams in a in view of the coronavirus, saying it is “deeply unfair” that students are asked to appear in the tests during the pandemic.

6.Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik also urged the Centre today to take steps for postponing the exams as it will be unsafe for students to physically appear in the exams in view of the prevailing COVID-19 situation.

7.Lok Janshakti Party president Chirag Paswan wrote to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, urging him to request the Central government to postpone the examinations.

8.West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the second consecutive day on the holding of JEE/NEET examinations during the ongoing pandemic and sought his intervention.

Today our government has received a letter from the National Testing Agency to conduct the JEE/NEET examinations starting from September 1, 2020. We are really worried and concerned," she wrote.

9.The JEE (Main) is scheduled to be held between September 1 and 6, while the JEE (Advanced) on September 27. The NEET will be held on September 13.

10.According to the leftist All India Students Association (AISA), over 4,200 students observed the day-long hunger strike at their respective home demanding that CBSE compartment exams of Classes 10 and 12 be cancelled and entrance exams such as the UGC-NET, CLAT, NEET and JEE be postponed.