Conduct NEET, JEE exams after Diwali: Subramanian Swamy requests Modi

BJP MP Subramanian Swamy on Friday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to conduct entrance examinations such as the NEET and the JEE after Diwali in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a tweet, Swamy said that he has spoken to Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and had written an urgent letter to the prime minister on this matter.

"There is widespread desperation amongst the youth since this exam is make or break for them and they have to take it fully prepared," Swamy said in the letter to Modi, adding that the required infrastructure for conducting these exams (amid the pandemic) is also not in place in the country.

The Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main is scheduled to be held between September 1 and 6 while the JEE (Advanced) on September 27. The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) will be held on September 13.

On Monday, the Supreme Court dismissed a plea seeking postponement of JEE (Main) April 2020 and NEET-Undergraduate examinations in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Underlining that the Supreme Court judgment does not bind the government when to hold the exam, Swamy indicated that holding the exams, in his opinion, "may lead to suicides".

I request you to please inform the Ministry of Education that these exams can be conducted after Deepavali. I have spoken to Ramesh Pokhriyal and he was sympathetic to my suggestion but naturally since this would require your concurrence, hence I am writing this urgent letter to you. Please direct the Ministry of Education delay these examinations till after Deepavali, he said in the letter to the prime minister.

Earlier BJP ally and LJP chief Chirag Paswan had written to Pokhriyal making a similar suggestion of postponing the entrance exams.