Telangana Congress has demanded that the Joint Entrance Examinations (JEE) and National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) be postponed given the fear due to the pandemic and save students from exposure to the virus.
Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy reiterated the demand at Gandhi Bhavan after visiting Telangana NSUI president Venkat Balamur, who is sittiing on ‘fast-unto-death’ at Gandhi Bhavan demanding postponement of national and State entrance tests.
The TPCC chief said Chief Ministers of different States also made the same demand during a meeting with AICC president Sonia Gandhi and they have decided to approach the Supreme Court in the interests of students’ safety. He said as per AICC directions, the party will also hold protests on Friday in the city and in all district headquarters against the government’s decision to hold the exams at the peak of COVID-19.
‘CM non-responsive’
In a separate statement, TPCC treasurer Gudur Narayana Reddy said Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is non-responsive to the demand for postponement, and he is behaving as a BJP Chief Minister.
The Congress leader said that it is highly regrettable that the Chief Minister did not hold a single review meeting to discuss JEE and NEET which involves nearly 1.25 lakh students and their parents.
He said that as many as 67,319 students from Telangana have registered for JEE while 55,800 have registered for NEET exams.
He pointed out that more than one lakh students in the United States got infected with Covid-19 within two weeks after re-opening of schools. “An examination is not just a three-hour affair. It involves travelling, assembling and other activities. Social distancing can be maintained in the examination hall, but the guidelines could not be monitored properly at all stages,” he said.
Former MP V. Hanmanth Rao in a statement welcomed the decision of Congress president Sonia Gandhi in support of lakhs of students and parents for postponing the exams.
