Environment activist Greta Thunberg has lent support to students across the country speaking out against conducting the NEET and JEE exams during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic
Thunberg took to social media to express her views on the matter, saying conducting these exams during this time is deeply unfair. "I stand with their call to postpone JEE and NEET," she said in a tweet.
Students have actively taken to social media to express their concerns about the move. On August 23, over 4,200 students participated in a day-long hunger strike demanding the cancellation and postponement of exams. Using #SATYAGRAHagainstExamInCovid, students took to Twitter to urge the government to pay attention to their demands.
Top Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, on August 23 also requested the government to defer the all-India medical and engineering entrance examinations taking into consideration the concerns raised by a section of students and parents amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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This wasn't the first time. Earlier, on August 3, parents of Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main for engineering and National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for medicine aspirants wrote to the Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ seeking postponement of the exams.
The letter addressed to the education minister said students will be mentally and physically harassed if asked to appear for the exams. Many students have returned to their home towns in different states and travelling back to appear for exams would endanger their lives.
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