The aspirants of the JEE Mains and NEET UG exams, have raised several concerns and have requested that the HRD Ministry postpone the aforementioned exams, which are to take place in July. Otherwise, the applicants would like the concerned department to address the safety issues that have surfaced due to the second wave of the covid 19 pandemic. The situation in the country is at dire straits and the aspirants are dealing with the situational crisis as well as the pressure of the exam. This has led to many online protests and requests by them to postpone the dates for the NEET and JEE Exams respectively. The aspirants have cited numerous reasons for this decision but the most major ones are listed below for your convenience.

Six Reasons Why NTA Should Rethink The Decision Of Conducting Exams In July:

1.Sitting for nearly three hours in an exam hall in July with gloves and masks on while the temperature is over 45 degrees Celsius would be a torturous task for pupils. One will definitely struggle to focus or concentrate on preparing for exams when all they hear is the number of deaths due to the coronavirus. Furthermore, the virus may have infected some of these students or their family members, making the situation much more distressing for them. Additionally, students from rural and containment zones will also face problems in getting to the exam centres, and students who are quarantined or isolated have no means to write the exams.

2.Examinations should not be held due to the state of the mental health of the students as a result of the pandemic, which has resulted in a lack of resources such as the Internet and laptops, as well as a lack of access to libraries and mentorship, and personal financial concerns. Some experts have previously stated that, given the gaping digital divide that exists in today’s society, taking renowned exams under these conditions will bring even more distress to disadvantaged kids.

3.The NTA claims to have increased the number of exams in order to preserve social distance; nevertheless, keeping track of safety requirements in so many locations would be futile. About 12 lakh pupils take the CBSE exam, with a total of 12,000 exam centres. This equates to about 100 pupils each centre. Nearly the same number of students appear in JEE mains, and the number of centres is around 250, implying nearly 900 students in a single location. In most states, the most important admission tests are held in a single city. JEE is, once again, a completely computer-based exam. There are touch systems everywhere, from thumb impressions to keyboards which are hazardous in the current scenario. Additional worries are the rust outside the exam centres as well as the transportations required to get to these centres.

4.Due to the fact that the majority of coronavirus cases are asymptomatic at first, the students taking these tests could become carriers and infect others. There is no way the testing agency can properly ensure that a student’s exam setting does not get infected.There are 26,000 active CoronaVirus cases in Maharashtra alone, with 9,000 cases in Tamil Nadu and 21,000 cases in Delhi. There are more than 1 lakh current cases in the country. In India, the total number of confirmed cases is around 5 lakh. According to the ICMR, the month of July will see the highest number of cases. Thousands of cases of coronavirus are reported every day in India.

5.Indeed, the government does not want to jeopardise students’ prospects by postponing exams. However, the students are not requesting to cancel the tests. All they ask is that exams be postponed until coronavirus cases have decreased by mid-August. According to the students, is it hypocritical that parents of CBSE students can afford to go to the Supreme Court to have their examinations cancelled while those who can’t afford it are considered opinionless. Exams for CBSE, ICSE, UPSC, and CTET have been postponed or cancelled, and parliament has been closed.

6.If the NTA does not show concern about students’ safety and does not postpone exams as a result of the pandemic, the students have demanded a full assurance from the Ministry of HRD, particularly from the Ministry of Health, about the efforts and arrangements made by National Testing Agency (NTA), in reassuring that student’s’ lives are safe, that there is no risk of infection in exam centres, and that social distancing measures are appropriately taken.