Breaking: NEET, JEE 2020 will not be postponed, Centre confirms

This year's edition of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET 2020) and the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) will not be postponed, sources in the Government of India have confirmed..Secretary of the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development Amit Khare confirmed the decision to Bar & Bench. He said,."NEET 2020 will not be postponed. The Supreme Court has given a very clear order."Amit Khare, Secretary, HRD Ministry.[Update at 18:58]: The office of Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank also confirmed that the NEET and JEE exams will not be postponed..Earlier this week, the Supreme Court dismissed a petition seeking the postponement of NEET and the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) scheduled to be held amid the COVID-19 pandemic..In its August 17 order, the Court had held,."We find that there is absolutely no justification in the prayer made for postponement of the examination in question relating to NEET UG-2020 as well as JEE (Main) April, 2020. In our opinion, though there is pandemic situation, but ultimately life has to go and the career of the students cannot be put on peril for long and full academic year cannot be wasted.".While dealing with another petition seeking that the second revised schedule for NEET and JEE is adhered to, the Court held,."In view of the dismissal of W.P. (C) No. 812 of 2020 above and the statement made by Mr. Tushar Mehta, learned Solicitor General, the examination is going to be held with due precaution and it is not going to be postponed. Thus, we find no merit in the writ petition.".This petition was filed by parents of students, who contended in their plea that any further deferment of the exams will add to the stress levels of the students, resulting in further traumatising the students over the uncertainty of their future..The student petitioners had urged the Apex Court to direct the Centre to cancel the NEET and JEE (Main) exams scheduled for September. It was also urged that the number of NEET and JEE examination centres across the country be increased, and that at least one centre be provided in one district of each state..The aggrieved students had stated that even as are due to be held in September, the rising number of COVID-19 cases remains as a major concern..The Centre's decision has been taken even as Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking the government to postpone the exams until after Diwali..[Read the Supreme Court order dated August 17].[Read the NTA press release]