The request for review has been submitted by ministers from West Bengal (Moloy Ghatak), Jharkhand (Rameshwar Oraon), Rajasthan (Raghu Sharma), Chhattisgarh (Amarjeet Bhagat), Punjab (BS Sidhu) and Maharashtra (Uday Ravindra Sawant). At a joint online press conference of the parties, Congressional spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said the reasons for his petition for review have not been heard by the court so far and are different from petitions that have been dismissed by the superior court.
The request for postponement of the entrance exams has aspects such as the safety, security and health of the students, the logistics required to take the exams with 25 lakh of students taking them and the balance between health and education. of the students. The review statement was filed Friday in the context of the Supreme Court on August 17 refusing to interfere with the completion of the medical and engineering, NEET and JEE entrance exams, scheduled for September, saying that life must go on and students can not lose a precious year due to the pandemic.
Singhvi said they have only sought postponement or postponement of NEET and JEE and not cancellations, as they do not want the students’ academic year to be wasted. “Although the court has rejected a request in this regard, none of the points raised by us has been previously discussed by the court. Ours is a request for postponement and not for cancellation of examinations,” he said.
On August 17, the high court had dismissed a request by one Sayantan Biswas and others seeking instructions from the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the NEET and JEE exams, to postpone them after Attorney General Tushar Mehta he assured that all guarantees would be taken. . This new request is a constructive, non-negative and non-destructive approach not to cancel the exams but to postpone them, the congressional spokesman said.
“We do this as our duty to the youth and students of our country and in the public interest. We are not discouraged by the clearly admitted time constraints and the previously dismissed petition, which was entirely avoidable and did not raise any of these issues. deny the limitations, there is always hope, “said Singhvi. He stated that this petition represented about 30 percent of the country’s area and population.
Singhvi suggested that the exams, which start from September 1, be postponed until November and the academic session can start from January to save the academic year. While JEE is from September 1-6, NEET starts on September 13.
The petition follows a meeting of chief ministers from seven states. It was virtually summoned by the president of Congress, Sonia Gandhi, on Wednesday. Singhvi also accused the central government of being insensitive and inefficient, calling it a “government of apathy and contradictions.”
The petition says that it must appear before the Supreme Court as soon as possible, otherwise, serious and irreparable damage and injuries would occur in the student community of our country and not only in health, well-being and safety. Singhvi said that students applying for NEET and JEE could be in danger, but also general public health would be in grave danger in these times of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trinamool Congressional Leader Derek O’Brien said that conducting tests of this magnitude when the infection is at its peak presents serious health hazards to students, their parents, and the people taking these tests. He said the issue will also be presented to Parliament for discussion, where all parties will meet to resolve it.
“It is very clear that we will speak with one voice. The petition for review is just one step in that direction. It goes beyond politics and is in the interest of students,” O’Brien said. He added that in the joint presentation of the petition, several governments have shown “great teamwork” and are presenting themselves with the “true spirit of federalism.” O’Brien added that this is a big step in the fight for student rights, which will take place in 2020.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren said that many students would not be able to take these exams out of fear or due to logistical difficulties. Plus, he said, some may even be suffering from underlying health problems like asthma and diabetes, making it even more dangerous for them to physically appear at exam centers. “It seems that the central government is being inflexible and stubborn in conducting the exams,” Soren said, asking who will be responsible for the health of the students.
He urged the Supreme Court to take a holistic view on the matter, noting that the central government appears to have shed its responsibility over the states and is not concerned with controlling the spread of the coronavirus. Maharashtra Minister Uday Samant was also present at the conference, but had to go to a meeting.
Singhvi argued that with recent information on the spread of the virus, conducting a physical examination of such magnitude can have disastrous consequences. He said that with the prime minister lecturing on security every day, conducting tests of that nature would be a mockery of COVID safeguards.
The congressional leader noted that COVID is inactive and people are asymptomatic, and temperature guns in exam centers would not be sufficient as safeguards in exam centers, which have a density of 1,500 students per center for JEE and 450 for NEET. “Test centers are a recipe for disaster when it comes to student health,” he said.
When asked about the possibilities of the petition, Singhvi said “we are not discouraged.”
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