Talking point of the nation, should the JEE and NEET exams be held?

The issue of postponement of JEE- Main (Joint Entrance Exam) and NEET-UG (National Eligibility and Entrance Test- Under Graduate) exams merit a serious discussion, and it has also become a political hot topic.

The Ministry of Education has decided not to postpone the JEE-Main and NEET-UG. Recently, the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts these exams, said: The examination is going to be held with due precaution and it is not going to be postponed. The NTA, also said that all most all aspirants of JEE-Main and NEET-UG will be offered their preferred choice of exam centers.

Eligibility criteria has been tremendously relaxed, too. 

The exams have already been postponed twice due to the corona virus pandemic-

JEE- Main (computer based test): Originally was scheduled from April: 7-11, but postponed to July18-23 and now to September: 1-6

NEET-UG (paper and pen based test): Originally was scheduled for May: 3, but postponed to July: 26 and now to September: 13

Chief Ministers of West Bengal, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Puducherry are in favor of postponement of the exams. Along with 7 chief ministers, DMK chief MK Stalin urged the Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Odisha to join the other states and approach the Supreme Court to seek deferment of this year’s National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test and the Joint Entrance Examination. 

These states want to postpone the exams as they feel- 

• The corona virus is on the rise in our country, 
• The institutions who are organizing the exams might not able to handle if there is any outbreak, 
• The unprecedented floods in some parts of the country will make it difficult for the students to take the exams and many other things

In Numbers:

• JEE- Main: 9.53 lakh candidates have registered 
• NEET- UG: 15.97 lakh students have registered 
• JEE- Main centers have been raised from 570 to 660
• NEET- UG centers have been increased from 2546 to 3843

My View:

The postponement of exams comes will suffer the loss of a valuable academic year. Does anyone have an idea on how the situation is going to be after three months or five months? Even if the exam is held in September, the colleges won’t be able to start classes before the middle of November. This itself means almost a loss of a semester. Further delay will do nothing other than loss of a year and then next year you will have two first years’ batches and our institutions don’t have the required infrastructure to handle such a situation

The pandemic seems to be here to stay until we find an effective vaccine. Hence, it is important that we keep moving towards our significant individual goals, one step at a time.

Also, medical admissions are time-bound and therefore, it makes no sense to further delay NEET-UG, which will eventually delay the overall admission process as well. 

Keeping in mind the effort put in by students who have prepared, it is critical that the exams are conducted as scheduled. Delay in holding the exams will lead to serious repercussions for the students as well to IIT’s and most of the year 2020 will be washed out”.

Lastly the mental health, anxiety, stress levels have increased in almost every student and parent who are appearing for these exams

However, strict adherence to preventive norms, have to be applied and followed. 

Students and Parents should not entirely leave the situation on the government. It is each and every individual’s responsibility to take care of themselves. A government can maximum do 25% of the job by setting up exam centers, sanitizing etc., and after that it is the responsibility of the candidate who is attending the exam. 

Lastly so important points for the major stakeholders who are involed in the exams-

Students:

• Students should first be aware of how the virus spreads, once they know this they should take their own precautions
• Students should wear a face mask, if necessary a face shield as well, sanitize their hands, maintain social distancing(a minimum of 6feet) and lastly take nutritious food so that they don’t fall sick easily
• Students should be cautious of what is happening around them and they should act accordingly
• As everyone is in the age group of 17-25 and everyone is well aware of the situations in the world from the past 6-8 months each student should be disciplined and follow the protocols set by the authorities so that everything goes in a good way
• Lastly the focus for a student at the moment should be on the exam they are giving rather than the outside noise. It is tough but they should do it!

Parents:

• Parents role is very critical here as they should motivate their children
• Parents should constantly monitor their kids and help them understand the real ground situations
• Create a happy and positive environment in the home
• Parents should distance themselves and their kids from the media. This will help the kids in developing a most positive attitude to the exam

Government:

• Government should create a positive environment for the students
• Authorities should follow strict rules and regulations while conducting the exams
• There should be no room for error on any of the exam days
• Strict adherence and preventive covid-19 norms, have to be applied and followed

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PK,

PK Enterprises.

www.pk-enterprises.com