Should JEE And NEET Be Held? – Prof K Nageshwar

India is, now, caught between a rock and a hard place on deciding on hamletian dilemma of to be or not to be conducting the prestigious NEET and JEE examinations.

Nearly 25 lakh bright students of the country sit for these exams. Concerns over the adverse impact of the academic life of these brilliant students on one side and equally grave concerns of the spread of pandemic as a result of these exams make the choice an extremely difficult one. However, the government decided to go ahead with the examination schedule.

The opposition calls it insensitive to hold these examinations in the physical mode across the country at a time when the pandemic is surging both in the number of infections, as well as, the mounting counts of deaths.  

The trajectory of the pandemic is unpredictable. Spanish flu took two years to register a significant fall in infection. Some countries are even reporting second wave of infections. Further delay in conducting entrance examinations may jeopardize the academic year itself shattering the dreams of lakhs of students who have put in years of hard work.

China’s gaokao and Germany’s abitur entrance tests were conducted overcoming COVID fears. South Korea, Singapore and Sri Lanka have even conducted elections. The United States is to follow soon.

The government claims that all measures are taken to conduct the exams in the new normal. For instance, the National Testing Agency, which conducts both exams, has announced social distancing measures such as more testing centres, fewer students per room, more shifts for the JEE(main) computer test and staggered entry and exit. But, their implementation on the ground remains a point of concern. Besides, inadequate public transport facilities due to pandemic are also worrying children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

None can dismiss the concerns about starting the academic session in these institutions for the sake of the future of the students and those courses as invalid and unfathomable. The entrance examinations must be rescheduled in a manner whereby the students are protected from losing the academic year. Is it not possible to hold the examinations in abeyance until some control over the spread of the infection is achieved? Therefore, it seems to be premature to conduct the examinations undermining the health concerns of lakhs of young boys and girls and their families. Therefore the prudent option could be waiting for a few more weeks. Still, the academic year can be saved by pruning summer vacation and other holidays.

By — Prof K Nageshwar

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