JEE, NEET row: Congress will hold nationwide protest tomorrow
Congress will hold a nationwide protest tomorrow (August 28, Friday) against the Centre's decision to hold NEET and JEE competitive examinations next month, amid the coronavirus crisis. Similarly, in West Bengal, the students' wing of ruling Trinamool, the Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad (TMCP), will stage a sit-in protest in Kolkata tomorrow. Yesterday, Congress convened an opposition meet on the same issue. Here's more.
Last month National Testing Agency (NTA), declared that JEE and NEET exams, for admission in IITs and government-run medical colleges respectively, will happen in September. However, some believed that holding tests at a time when coronavirus numbers are surging is a bad idea. Thereafter, a plea was filed in Supreme Court seeking deferment, but it concluded that postponing exams could affect careers.
After SC's order, students took to social media and other platforms to talk about the risk the examinations pose. Those from flood-affected areas highlighted how they lack proper transport facilities, and those from rural areas also said that reaching examination centers, when partial coronavirus-necessitated restrictions are in place, would be challenging. They soon got support from a few politicians, who termed the Centre's decision to hold exams "unfair."
Now, in a bid to corner Centre over the exam row, Congress has planned a pan-India protest. Giving details of the same, party General Secretary KC Venugopal said, "Congress will be holding protests on Friday at 11 am in front of central government offices at state and district headquarters. They will oppose the decision of the government to hold these exams during the pandemic."
"While holding exams during the COVID-19 crisis has put students in a state of extreme mental stress, the grim flood situation in states like Assam and Bihar will further put students from those states at a severe disadvantage," the statement added.
This announcement came after a day-long meeting between Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Congress Chief Ministers, and other opposition leaders. At the virtual meeting, non-BJP CMs suggested moving the Supreme Court, opining that the top court understood sensitive problems pertaining to students in the past. Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh asked the state's Attorney General to speak to his counterparts and make a blueprint for appeal.
Like Congress, TMCP also has planned a protest, on its Foundation Day nonetheless; theirs will happen at Mayo Road, in front of Gandhi statue. Reports said Banerjee will address the event and the students' wing of her party will install 500 giant screens across Bengal to facilitate viewing. Making a case for postponing exams, TMCP State President Trinankur Bhattacharya slammed the Centre's high-handedness.
"As there will be no public meeting this year, we have decided to organize a sit-in to demand postponement of both exams. The demonstration will be held while maintaining social distancing norms," Bhattacharya told IE, adding that party members are looking forward to Banerjee's speech.
In the line of fire from the opposition, NTA said it was going ahead with the examinations to "save one academic year." It said that after admit cards were released, it received plenty of responses, both for and against the postponement. "In this scenario, NTA visualizes no reason for not conducting the examinations," NTA said, putting the onus on states to handle logistics.
On a related note, over 150 academicians from India and abroad wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi making a case for holding examinations on schedule, adding that some people were exploiting students for their own vested interests. "There are a lot of apprehensions about admission and classes which need to be resolved at the earliest," the letter claimed.
