[Exams during COVID-19] One more plea in SC against postponement of NEET/ JEE Exams

Parents of four students have moved the Supreme Court urging the Court to direct that the NEET and JEE Entrance exams be conducted in September as per the revised schedule released by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on July 3 (Abhat G Patel and ors. v. UOI and. Ors)..As per this second revised schedule, the NEET exam for Undergraduate medical and dental college admissions are to be conducted on September 13, whereas the JEE (Main) exam for admission into various top tier Engineering colleges is to be conducted on September 1. .Registering concern over any possible move to postpone the exams beyond these dates, the petitioners assert that there is an imminent need to stick to the second revised schedule issued by the NTA. .The admission process is time-bound and the entire admission schedule is time regulated process, the petitioners state. For medical admissins, there is a unique three-tier process involved which must be done in a statutorily regulated time frame, it is emphasised. .Similarly, even for the JEE exams, the petitioners argue that every delay at any stage of the admission process will have a direct and adverse impact upon the academic year of the students. Such delay would impact the Post Graduate studies and career opportunities of the students, it is added..Highlighting that these entrace exams determing the course of the students' lives and careers, the petitioners further state that students have rigorously been preparing for the NEET/JEE exams for the last 3 years, since Class 10..As such, any further deferment of the exam will add to the stress levels of the students, resulting in further traumatising the students over the uncertainty of their future. This would severely impact their academic performance in the examinations conducted ultimately, the petitioners state..Moreover, it is added that if the revised schedule is followed, it is still possible to make up for the delay caused on account of the COVID-19 pandemic in the academic calendar. However, any further delay in conducting the entrance tests will make re-scheduling unworkable as the time lost will no longer be capable of being adjusted in the vacation calendar, it is stated. .The Union Home Ministry has also allowed the conduct of exams in its July 6 memo in the larger interest of students, the petitioners point out. .As such, the parents have prayed that the Supreme Court direct the NTA to conduct these entrance tests on the dates scheduled as per its July 3 revised schedule. .The development comes days after a body of students' parents moved a similar plea before the top Court. Both petitions have been drawn and filed by Advocate on Record Jaikriti S Jadeja..[BREAKING] Parents body moves Supreme Court to ensure JEE, NEET-UG exams are conducted in September as scheduled.In the meanwhile, the Court is also due to take a plea by 11 NEET-UG and JEE aspirants seeking the cancellation of the September exams in view of the rising number of coronavirus infections. These students have prayed that the exams be postponed to a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided and normalcy has returned.