JEE-NEET: If you do not fix a date, how do you determine the preparedness

New Delhi, Aug 27: There has been a growing chorus against the conduct of the JEE Mains and NEET exams.

The opposition parties have questioned the logic to hold the exams next month and raised issues of safety amidst the ongoing pandemic.

Dr Sandeep Shastri, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Jain University tells OneIndia that there are two ways of looking at this issue. While holding exams is important, the consequences are equally important as well.

In such exercises there is a lot of preparedness needed. If you do not fix a date, then how do you determine the preparedness. When a date is announced, it does not mean that the date is final and sacrosanct. It only gives a count down in terms of preparedness, Dr. Shastri says. In the pandemic situation, one needs to keep amending decisions, considering how dynamic and fluid the situation is.

In Karnataka, a directive was issued to all the vice-chancellors to be prepared for an October 1 opening of colleges. This does not mean we opening in October. The question is can be prepared for an October opening. The message that has gone to the universities is to prepare for an October opening.

However, I would like to take one step back and add that the Centre has been consistently saying since the pandemic that believes in greater consultation with the Chief Ministers. When the decision was taken to unlock, the CMs were consulted.

However subsequent to that we have not seen much of the visible consultation process. Education is a concurrent subject and this decision on the exams too should have been taken in consultation with the states. When you do not consult, it becomes a political football.

A consensus decision needs to be arrived at. We need to understand if we are in a position to conduct the exams offline. Can we create the necessary infrastructure to ensure the safety of all stakeholders who are the students, the parents accompanying them and the faculty asks Dr. Shastri.

How fool proof does the government believe are our preparations. It would well happen that closer to the date the government could postpone it. Generally, when an election is announced, there is a count down to that. If the government feels that the preparation is not enough, it could well postpone it. The date is to give time so that the agencies can ensure that the preparedness is okay, Dr. Shastri also says.