JEE Main, NEET 2020: Mamata Banerjee urges Centre to postpone exams

Kolkata, Aug 24: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi postpone the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) examinations that are scheduled to be held in September.

Banerjee, in a series of tweets on Monday morning, said she was vocal about the issue during the last video conference of chief ministers with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"In our last video conference with PM Modi, I had been vocal against the UGC guidelines mandating completion of terminal examinations in Universities/Colleges by the end of September 2020, which had a huge potential to put student lives at risk," Mamata Banerjee tweeted.

"With the Education Ministry's directive to conduct NEET, JEE 2020 in Sept, I would again appeal to Centre to assess risk and postpone these exams until the situation is conducive again. It's our duty to ensure a safe environment for all our students," Mamata Banerjee's tweet further read.

Meanwhile, several politicians cutting across the party lines, have joined students and parents from across the country in demanding postponement of the competitive exams.

On August 17, the Supreme Court of India dismissed a plea for postponement of JEE Main and NEET 2020. The court allowed the Naitonal Testing Agency to go ahead with its plan to conduct the entrance exams in September as planned.

The JEE (Main) is scheduled to be held between1 and 6 September, while the JEE (Advanced) on 27 September. The NEET will be held on 13 September.