NEET test centres doubled, frisking of students banned JEE (Main) From Sept 1 To Sept 6

ROW RAGES OVER GOVT’S DECISION TO HOLD JEE AND NEET EXAMINATIONS

NEET test centres doubled, frisking of students banned

JEE (Main) From Sept 1 To Sept 6

Ramendra.Singh@timesgroup.com

Bhopal:  27.08.2020

In order to follow the Covid norms and keep the students away from unnecessary contact, physical frisking of the NEET aspirants before entering the exam centre will not be done. Instead, candidates will have to go through a metal detector. In Madhya Pradesh there will be 144 NEET centres this year where 58,860 students will appear.

There were 84 centres last year where 54,445 students had appeared. This year the number of centres in Bhopal has been doubled. Last year, there were 15 exam centres across the state capital.

Several students in Bhopal on Wednesday downloaded their admit cards for the NTA NEET 2020, which is scheduled to be held on September 13.

Like previous years, this year also the majority of the centres in the state capital are in CBSE schools. Some of the exam centres in Bhopal are IES Public School, Red Rose School, Gyan Ganga School, Campion School and Sharda Vidya Mandir. On the condition of anonymity, owner of a school whose school has been made an exam centre told TOI that there will be around 35 centres in Bhopal where 18,000 students are expected to appear. Notably, last year around 12,000 students appeared in 15 centres.

“National testing agency (NTA) has not left a single stone unturned when it comes to the safety of the students appearing for exams at these centres,” said a school owner without quoting his name.

Nearly 16 lakh candidates across the country had registered for the medical-based entrance exam.

Last week, the Supreme Court had refused to entertain a plea seeking the postponement of the entrance exam. However, several political leaders have objected to it and have demanded the cancellation of exams. JEE (Main) will be held from September 1 to 6 and the hall ticket can be download at the website- jeemain.nta.nic.in.

Medical, paramedical students can pay fees in 4 instalments

Medical, paramedical students can pay fees in 4 instalments

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad:  27.08.2020

Students pursuing medical, dental and paramedical courses can pay annual fees in four instalments, the state government said on Wednesday. The decision was taken to provide them relief amid the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak.

This will be applicable to students studying in the 515 government, grant-inaid and self-financed colleges of the state. Students will have to pay the first instalment (25%) of annual fees in September, followed by three instalments in the subsequent three months.

However, those who are financially well-off can pay the entire fees at once, a government statement said.

Deputy CM Nitin Patel said that a total of 35,151 students will get relief as they can now pay fees in four instalments.

Of these, 12,307 students are from medical and dental courses, while 22,844 are from paramedical courses like nursing, BSc Nursing and physiotherapy.

The annual fees for MBBS students in Gujarat range from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 15 lakh.

A total of 5,360 MBBS students of six government medical colleges, eight GMERS colleges, three colleges run by municipal corporations and 11 self-financed colleges can avail of the relief, a government release said.

The statement added that students can pay the first instalment of fees by September 30, the second by October 31, the third instalment by November 30 and the fourth instalment of fees by December 31.

Delaying entrance tests indefinitely will further disadvantage the batch of 2020

Conduct NEET, JEE

Delaying entrance tests indefinitely will further disadvantage the batch of 2020

27.08.2020

A campaign has begun demanding postponement of the medical and engineering entrance exams – NEET and JEE – slated for September, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to surge. However, there is no knowing how long this situation will continue; recall the Spanish flu took two years to abate. Keeping qualifying examinations in abeyance isn’t in the interest of nearly 2.5 million enrolled candidates.

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 arrival. NEET and JEE are the culmination of two years of intense study by higher secondary pass outs. Interminable delays blunt their preparedness. Moreover, note the wholly voluntary nature of the exercise – one can skip a round of exams to take the next one if one wishes, which is much harder to do for, say, board exams. It’s also common for a candidate to repeat an exam, perhaps to get admission to more preferred streams.

Despite all this Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, and several others have joined a populist chorus demanding postponement. Union education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal must not buckle before the protesters, as that would enable a vocal minority to override the interests of the silent majority that wants to enrol in college soon. Further delay would be self-defeating as herd immunity could be a long time away. By then the next batch would be ready to sit for these examinations, creating an untenable situation. Minimising tech glitches in generating online admit cards etc – as had happened in other recent exams – is important, lest they cause more stress and chaos on exam day.

Onus also rests on the Centre and states to restore transport services so that students can travel without difficulty to venues. Railways services and bus transport remain greatly restricted. Metro and local trains are yet to restart. By now it is accepted that well-ventilated rooms – a common enough feature of college and school classrooms – and wearing masks greatly retard Covid spread. Authorities must amplify the reassuring messaging to students and parents that safe conduct of the exams is in their interest, especially with politicians and even an international teen activist joining the cancel bandwagon. China’s gaokao and Germany’s abitur entrance tests were conducted overcoming Covid fears. India must not dither either.

7 oppn CMs want NEET, JEE put off, will seek SC rethink

7 oppn CMs want NEET, JEE put off, will seek SC rethink

AAP & BJP Ally AIADMK Oppose Sept 1 Date Too

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:  27.08.2020

Five states and a Union territory where Congress and its allies are in office, as well as West Bengal, will petition the Supreme Court against the holding of NEET and JEE examinations from September 1, flagging concerns of Covid infection risk and seeking a postponement till the situation improves.

In a virtual meeting chaired by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday, Congress CMs of Punjab, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Puducherry; CMs of Maharashtra and Jharkhand — where the party is in alliance — and Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee felt while the SC okayed the holding of exams, it had in the past shown consideration for students in sensitive situations.

While Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal didn’t attend the meet, his government said the tests shouldn’t go ahead now.TN government, led by BJP ally AIADMK, has been asking for the exams to be deferred.

The 7 CMs interact with Cong chief Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday

Will go ahead with NEET, JEE: K’taka govt

Deputy CM CN Ashwath Narayan dismissed students’ appeal for postponement of NEET and JEE 2020 due to the pandemic and said, “Certain groups want seats to be allocated through an opaque system rather than merit. Some vested interests have been trying to disrupt NEET and JEE.” He said the Karnataka government will go ahead with NEET and JEE following the experience of conducting CET for 1.9 lakh students without a glitch. TNN

If Centre can’t go to SC, we can: Mamata

The debate on whether the entrance exams to engineering and medical colleges should be held or deferred has become a polarising one with the opposition also wading in. On social media, comments flew thick and fast, including allegations of hashtags and trends being manipulated. The discussion appeared to have split opinion even as the government and the National Testing Agency said arrangements have been made keeping the needs of social distancing and sanitation in mind. The Supreme Court had recently dismissed appeals against holding of the exams noting that “life should move on. We have to go ahead. Precious one year of students will go waste”.

Banerjee said she has written two letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking for the Centre to approach the Supreme Court to defer the exams. “If the government of India cannot go to court, we, as elected state governments, can approach the court on behalf of lakhs of students whose future is at stake,” she said. Punjab CM Amarinder Singh said, “I endorse Mamata Banerjee’s view that we should collectively approach the Supreme Court again.”

On Tuesday, Sonia Gandhi reached out to Banerjee and Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray among other leaders to hold a meeting of opposition chief ministers.

Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren said, “Exams must happen but we are in too much hurry. In my state, we have very few centres. To accommodate these students, we will have to open all hotels and buses.”

The meeting was politically significant as the CMs of three key regional parties— Trinamool Congress, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) and JMM (Hemant Soren)— and Congress (Ashok Gehlot, Amarinder Singh, Bhupesh Baghel, V Narayanasamy) decided to forge a common platform to fight “injustice” at the hands of BJP and also resolved to meet the President and PM.

JEE aspirants wonder how to reach, how safe will it be Covid, Curbs, Floods & Lack Of Transport Worry Students

JEE aspirants wonder how to reach, how safe will it be

Covid, Curbs, Floods & Lack Of Transport Worry Students

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

27.08.2020

After months of uncertainty over when they will finally be able to get done with their careerdefining exams, JEE and NEET aspirants are still unsure of two things — how they will get to their exam centre and how safe it will be.

Calls to postpone the exams have been trending on social media for two days now — climate activist Greta Thunberg and actor Sonu Sood are among those who have amplified the demand. Students, meanwhile, are concerned. “I live in Idaratganj and my centre is in Varanasi, nearly 130km away. Where I live is a containment zone. How am I supposed to get there? Will it be safe?” asked Shriyansh Jaiswal, a NEET-UG aspirant.

Parents from outside Chennai, have urged the Tamil Nadu government to ask hotels to open bookings for those travelling for the exams. They also want a transport plan. “The NTA and state transport departments could coordinate a plan for the day,” said N Vijayan, principal of a Chennai school. The process could be streamlined.

But this is a limited possibility in some cities. In Telangana, incessant rain for the past two weeks has damaged road connectivity to many districts. It’s the same in the flood-hit areas of Assam and Bihar. “Many students who take the exam in Bengal come from Bihar and Jharkhand,” Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee told the media. The state has kept the exam dates out of the total lockdown schedule.

As for safety, the broad guidelines have been laid down by the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the exams — fresh masks at the entrance, thermal screening, sanitisers, social distancing and separate rooms for those with Covid-19 symptoms. But those appearing are still worried, and not all states have notified any. The Assam health department, for instance, is yet to announce rules for applicants from containment zones. Goa has not come up with specific guidelines either. UP, too, will follow the central directives.

And space remains a concern. Odisha has exam centres in just seven cities, bound to lead to larger gatherings. Assam, too, is facing a challenge in finding more exam centres.

Some have come up with workarounds. “We will separate outstation students so that the post-exam exit strategy is in place,” said a principal at a school in Nagpur. In Kerala too, all applicants will have to contact their exam centre before time and inform them if they are coming from a containment zone, a hotspot or are yet to finish quarantine. Rajasthan — where all six districts which will host NEET and JEE exams have been witnessing a surge in Covid cases — has mandated buffer areas near exam centres.

Don’t postpone JEE & NEET, say parents

Don’t postpone JEE & NEET, say parents

Farheen.Hussain@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru:  27.08.2020

“Enthusiastic children will suffer the most if competitive exams like the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) Main and National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) are postponed. They will lose focus and interest. Kids like my child will end up joining other institutions rather than missing out on a year. They will give up their dream to join IIT and IITs will miss out on some good talent,” Swaroopa (name changed), mother of an SSLC and CET topper said.

Like Swaroopa, several parents and students are anguished over the demand for postponement of the exams.

There have been widespread protests and demand on virtual platforms to shelve the two crucial exams, with hashtags trending.

JEE Main is for admission to IITs and NITs and NEET (undergraduate) is for entry to medical colleges. While the former is scheduled to be held between September 1 and 6, the latter is expected to be held on September 13.

Manohar (name changed), a parent, said the pandemic must be dealt with tact and the exams, which are important stepping stones for students, must not be put off any further. “The world has understood how to deal with it (pandemic). We can follow the guidelines, maintain distance and go ahead with this,” he said, adding: “The solution cannot lie in avoiding important things. We never know what will happen next year.”

An open letter written by a group of parents in support of the exam says with so much media and political uproar over the issue, they would like to highlight the fact that there are people who think differently. As per the letter, all students applying for exams are adults “who can make a decision best for them”.

The letter goes on to say that the decision to write the test must be left to the examinees, but the matter should not be forced on everyone. Social media platforms too are abuzz with messages favouring conduct of the exams.

Good news on vaccine by early 2021, says WHO chief scientist

Good news on vaccine by early 2021, says WHO chief scientist

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru:  27.08.2020

“By early 2021, we should have some good news (about Covid vaccine),’’ said Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist, World Health Organisation.

At the valedictory of the international conference on public policy and management hosted by the Centre for Public Policy at IIM-Bangalore on Wednesday, she said: “Then, there is the challenge of being able to scale and distribute it fairly around the world without letting the rich countries corner the limited doses. But India is in a good position because many companies are working on vaccine development, either on their own or in collaboration, and the nation is a manufacturing hub for vaccines.”

Responding to a question on how long the pandemic will last, she said eradication is not possible so development of a vaccine can protect vulnerable populations.

“The mortality rate is not going up in the second wave of the pandemic. This is probably related to demographics and other factors – we do not yet know why South Asia and Africa have lower mortality rates than Europe and the Americas,” she said.

“There have been warnings for health emergencies. Unless we have a system of strong surveillance, it can quickly go out of hand. What we do not have is public health cadre that is devoted to not just detection but also prevention, management, training and capacity building,” she said.