The Supreme Court on Friday rejected another request for postponement of JEE (Joint Entrance Exam) and NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) examinations from the six opposition states.
Six non-BJP states have asked the apex court to review its earlier order and postpone the exam for the benefit of the students.
However, the first day of the JEE exams has already been passed.
Rejecting the petition, Justices Ashok Bhushan, BR Gavai and Krishna Murari said there is no merit in this petition. “No case is made out for reconsidering our earlier decision,” the bench said.
On August 17, the Supreme Court had dismissed a petition seeking the postponement of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE).
The six states which have decided to move the apex court are Maharashtra, Bengal, Punjab, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Puducherry.
The first set of JEE exams were held on September 1 and will be conducted till September 6, while the NEET exams will be conducted on September 13.
There were many petitions filed in the Supreme Court seeking the postponement of the exams due to the spread of coronavirus but the court had rejected the petitions saying, “the careers of students can’t be put in jeopardy.”
On night before the exams, Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ wished students who are appearing for the exams.
In a video message, the minister said two crucial exams, the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) and the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to medical courses, are being held to ensure that students don’t lost an academic year amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The Joint Entrance Examination (Main) is scheduled from September 1-6, the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) is planned on September 13. A total of 9.53 lakh candidates have registered for JEE-Mains, and 15.97 lakh students have registered for NEET.