JEE Mains / NEET 2020: Divide between students and parents continue as Parent's Associations move to SC. Will the exam happen?

A Gujarat's Parent's Association filed a plea before the Supreme Court days after a group of students. The former seeks that SC rules out the possibility of postponing exams. On the other hand, the latter seeks to postpone the exams indefinitely. Even before, NTA has twice postponed the JEE Main and Advanced and NEET 2020 Exams till September.

Gujarat Parents Association's plea stated that if NTA postpones the NEET 2020 and JEE Main exams, it will result in loss of an academic year for students. This will have a great bearing on their professional career and life.

“These exams are so important that they determine students’ career and also the entire life. As such, the Respondent Authorities must take into consideration as a relevant factor, the fact that any further deferment of the examination will further add to the stress levels of the students resulting in further traumatising the students with the uncertainty of their future and thereby severely impacting their academic performance in the ultimate examination to be held in future,” the petition said.

The students who filed a plea earlier stated that NTA should postpone the exams. If it conducts them, it risks the life of lakhs of people, especially young students.

Where is the divide?

We conducted a poll last week, on what students wanted. A large percentage favoured that NTA should postpone NEET 2020 and JEE exams. But there were some still, either wanted the exams to happen, or students give them voluntarily. A Student told CIOL, "There are chances that vaccine might never come out, or worse the pandemic continues for years. Are we to sit at home?"

While some opine the exams to happen, another student stated that she belongs to a very middle-class family. "We won't have money if I test positive and my whole family does. I can't voluntarily leave exams because what if admissions happen next year? That will set me back from my colleagues. There shouldn't be discrimination."

JEE and NEET 2020, which were initially scheduled to be held in April and May respectively. The NTA then postponed it to July due to Covid-19 outbreak. On July 3, it came out with public notices to hold of JEE and NEET in September.

NTA is the central government body that conducts JEE and NEET exams. Will it move to cancel exams?