You May Lead to Suicides: Swamy Asks Modi to Defer NEET Amid COVID

“Holding the exam in my opinion you may lead to a large number of suicides in the country,” Swamy wrote to the PM.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with BJP leader Subramanian Swamy.

(Photo: Twitter.com/@Swamy39)

Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament (MP) Subramanian Swamy on Friday, 21 August, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to postpone NEET/JEE and other similar entrance exams to after Diwali, owing to the COVID-19 situation in the country.

Pointing out that there is no public transport in cities like Mumbai, and people have to travel over 20 to 30 kms to reach their test centres, Swamy said: "There is wide desperation among the youth since this exam is make or break for them and they have to take it fully prepared."

“Holding the exam in my opinion you may lead to a large number of suicides in the country.”

Subramanian Swamy

(Photo Courtesy: Jagdish Shetty/Twitter)

(Photo Courtesy: Jagdish Shetty/Twitter)

Further, Swamy pointed out that the Supreme Court order does not bind the government to conduct the exam in any fixed time period.

WHAT DID SWAMY TWEET?

In a series of tweets, Swamy said that he had raised the issue for the postponement of the exams with both the education minister as well as the prime minister.

“I have just spoken to the Minister of Education suggesting that NEET and other exams be conducted after Deepavali. The SC order the other day is not a bar since the Hon’ble Court has left the date to the government. I am sending an urgent letter to the PM just now.”

He, further, said that the ministers are holding an urgent meeting,

“I have already tweeted as well as conveyed to Education Minister that NEET exams should be after Deepavali. Minister is holding an emergency meeting. Let us see. I was asked to intervene by you all at a very late stage after SC had delivered its judgment.”

WHAT DID THE SUPREME COURT SAY?

Maintaining that a further delay in exams will put the 'career of students in peril', the Supreme Court on Monday, 17 August, dismissed a petition asking for the postponement of JEE Main and NEET UG exams, which are scheduled to take place in September 2020.

Dismissing the petition, a three-judge bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra said that there was “no ground to interfere with policy decision” while adding that it had taken the submissions of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on record, who said that exams will be held with ‘adequate precautions.’

MEANWHILE

The National Teaching Agency (NTA) which conducts JEE and NEET, on Monday, released instructions to JEE and NEET candidates to appear for the exam. According to the official notice, instructions will be detailed in the admit card and will also include a COVID-19 undertaking.

Candidates will also have to submit a self-declaration form along with a photograph, saying they tested negative for COVID-19 and have not had any symptoms like fever, dry cough or difficulty in breathing in the recent days.

The report further states that the students will be required to submit the undertaking at the exam centre and duly sign the form in front of the centre officer.