Tribune News Service
New Delhi, August 28
Cabinet ministers from six states not governed by the BJP today filed a petition in the Supreme Court requesting a review of their decision that gives the green light to holding JEE and NEET next month.
Will cause ‘serious harm’
- The petitioners urged SC to reconsider the August 17 decision on taking the exams, saying the students will suffer “ serious harm. ”
- SC’s order doesn’t address safety concerns for students taking tests, say
- SC’s twin reasons – ‘life must go on’ and ‘students must not miss the academic year’ – do not constitute comprehensive judicial scrutiny of the matter
The six ministers from Punjab, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Jharkhand have requested the postponement of the JEE (Main) and NEET-UG scheduled for next month. They have filed the petition on an individual basis, said their attorney Sunil Fernandes.
I hope the government listens
I feel sorry for you (students) because now you are facing a very difficult situation. You are our future. It is important that any decision about the future of students is made with their consent … I hope the government listens to them, hears their voices and acts in accordance with their wishes.
The petitioners are Balbir Singh Sidhu (Punjab), Moloy Ghatak (West Bengal), Dr. Rameshwar Oraon (Jharkhand), Dr. Raghu Sharma (Rajasthan), Amarjeet Bhagat (Chhattisgarh) and Uday Ravindra Saman (Maharashtra).
They asked the high court to reconsider its August 17 decision on conducting JEE and NEET, highlighting the fact that 25 lakh students would appear cumulatively for the two exams at a time when Covid-19 cases had exceeded 3, 31 million. They said the decision failed to balance the competitive but equally important aspects of exam taking and student safety, that is, their “right to life” as mandatory guarantees had not been guaranteed during the tests. On August 17, the CS rejected a petition seeking to postpone exams scheduled for September, saying that a precious year of students “cannot be wasted.”
“Life has to go on … Life has to go on. A precious student year cannot be wasted, ”a three-judge bench led by Judge Arun Mishra had said, adding that the students’ careers“ cannot be jeopardized for long ”.
According to public notices issued by the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the tests, the JEE (Main) April 2020 is scheduled for September 1-6, while NEET-UG 2020 is scheduled for September 13. September.
