The unprecedented pandemic has affected the lives of everyone. Whilst most of us are working from home and students are studying online, safety has become a priority for all of us.
The engineering and medical entrance exams are still being held on September 1-6 (JEE Mains) and September 13 (NEET) by the Indian government.
In the lieu of the same, Hashtags like #SATYAGRAHagainstExamInCovid, #INDIAagainstExamsInCovid and #PostponeJEE_NEETinCovid are trending on Twitter as students are protesting the entrance examinations, online.
Let’s have a look at some of the most popular tweets doing rounds on the Internet :-
Greta Thunberg, the famous Swedish activist known for her fight against climate change, was also in support of Indian students and tweeted,
Subramanian Swamy, who is a Rajya Sabha MP, and Fmr. Union Cabinet Minister, also took to Twitter stating his views in favour of the students.
He even went on to reach out to the PM’s residence, in an appeal to postpone the exams.
AISA, the All India Students’ Association in India, which describes itself as the ‘voice of radical students’, is also in favour of postponing the exams.
In addition to the mental well being, students also fear their safety as they make their way to write these exams. The All India Student Association wants all NEET-JEE, UPSC, CLAT, NDA and University/College Entrance Exams to be postponed and CBSE Compartment, Final Year Exams and Gujrat Purak pariksha to be cancelled in this academic year.
In order to express disappointment over the conduct of examinations, National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) president, Neeraj Kundan and the president of the Delhi wing of the students’ body sat down for a hunger strike along with eight other members on Wednesday. They’re demanding for postponement of the exams as well as a 6-month fees waiver.
Many prominent members of the society including West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Rahul Gandhi, Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray, BSP Supremo Mayawati, Sonu Sood and Greta Thunberg are voicing their support for the safety of the students.
This is what few students have to say about the decision :-
“They themselves have virtual meetings but they expect lakhs of us to physically sit for the exams. Are we resistant to Covid? What if I get affected by the virus? Who will take the responsibility, the human resource ministry or the Supreme Court?”
“My examination centre is 60 km from my home and my reporting time is 7.30 am. I live with my brother and sister in Delhi, and we don’t own a vehicle. How will I manage to reach that early when there is no metro in Delhi?”
What is your view on the government’s decision? Do you think the exams should be postponed?
