The Supreme Court has held that there will be no further postponement of NEET 2020 and has finally put a stop to all the confusion regarding the exams. It will be of the same effect for the JEE aspirants of this year.
Justice Arun Mishra said that the postponement of NEET 2020/JEE will put the career of students in peril. He, therefore, dismissed the plea filed by the petitioners who were opposing the conduct of examination on September 13. These petitioners were urging the SC to give directions to the center to conduct the JEE and NEET 2020 once the COVID-19 crisis subsides.
Alakh Alok Srivastava filed the petition on behalf of 11 students from 11 states across the country. The plea also mentioned that the decision of NTA to conduct offline NEET 2020 at 161 countries across India was utterly whimsical, arbitrary, and violative of the fundamental rights to life of lakhs of affected students.
Advocate Srivastava who had filed the plea had also said that the NTA and others have overlooked that many states have refused to allow the conducting of and professional or non-professional exams in their state while deciding to conduct the JEE and NEET 2020 exams in September. Unimaginable harassment will be caused to the petitioners and other such students.
Parents of four aspirants, in their latest move, have also moved the Supreme Court urging it to direct that NEET 2020 and JEE entrance exams be conducted in September 2020 according to the revised schedule of NTA. The parents have stated in the petition that there is an imminent need to stick to the revised schedule.
The Supreme Court has been requested by the Gujarat Parents Association to let the examination be conducted on the scheduled date. It has been cited in the petition that any delay will affect the academic calendar severely and mental stress is caused to students by the continuous change in dates.
IndiaTV News was quoted saying that the admission process is time-bound, and the entire admission schedule is a time-regulated schedule. There is a unique three-tier process involved in medical admissions, which must be done in a statutorily regulated time frame.
It was noted by the judge today, during the hearing of the matter, that there were two petitions. The first petition sought the conduct of JEE, and NEET 2020 exams, and the second petition sought the postponement of the entrance examinations.
The bench said that life should move on even in COVID-19 times. Exams cannot be stopped; therefore, we should move on.
SUPREME COURT: JEE MAIN AND NEET 2020 TO BE CONDUCTED AS PER THE SCHEDULE
Appearing for NTA, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that exams should be conducted, and adequate precautions will be taken to conduct the exams. Advocate Alakh submitted, in response, that there are chances of receiving a vaccine for COVID-19. The Prime Minister had also mentioned it in his speech on Independence Day. He said that he was not seeking an indefinite postponement of the exam but a postponement for some time.
STUDENTS ADVOCATE REQUESTS NOT TO FILE PETITIONS FOR JEE NEET POSTPONEMENT
The bench said that after taking into the record the submission of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, that exams will be held with precautions, there remains no ground to interfere with the policy decision.
NEET EXAM NOT TO BE CONDUCTED AT FOREIGN CENTERS, SAYS NTA