Srinagar: Keeping in view the prevailing situation, minister of Human Resource Development (HRD), Government of India, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank on Friday announced the cancellation of JEE Main and NEET 2020 entrance exams in July. He said instead of July, the examinations will be held in the month of September.
Announcing the decision, Nishank took to his twitter handle and wrote; “Keeping in mind the safety of students and to ensure quality education we have decided to postpone #JEE & #NEET examinations. JEE Main examination will be held between 1st-6th Sept, JEE advanced exam will be held on 27th Sept & NEET examination will be held on 13th Sept.”
Pertinent to mention, more than twenty four lakh students were scheduled to meet JEE and NEET examinations this year in July.
Earlier in a day, Nishak announced that both the exams will possibly be postponed due to coronavirus situation in the country. The decision was taken after a committee including NTA DG and other experts reviewed the situation and submitted recommendations to the minister.
The move was necessitated as lakhs of students and parents wrote to the HRD ministry on social media demanding that the exams be postponed.
Days back, the India Wide Parents’ Association wrote to the HRD minister and requested him to postpone JEE Main and NEET entrances. Citing concerns of parents and students, it listed out a number of 15 reasons why the exams should be postponed.
These included increasing COVID-19 infections in India, students acting as carriers of the virus, students coming from containment zones and more.
