New Delhi: Many students have taken to Twitter to express their concern over holding of JEE and NEET during the COVID-19 pandemic, amid a plea by opposition leaders on Friday seeking review of the Supreme Court's order allowing the Centre to conduct the entrance exams in September.
The hashtag 'speakupforstudentsafety' has been trending since Friday morning with at least 2.25 million posts on the microblogging site.
While many students in their tweets pointed out the challenges of making it to examination centres under the present circumstances, others talked about their inability to cope with the stress of having to appear for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), especially when coronavirus cases are on the rise.
The top court on August 17 had refused to interfere with the conduct of medical and engineering entrance exams –NEET and JEE –scheduled to take place in September saying that life must go on and students can't lose a precious year due to the pandemic.
500 cases: Complete lockdown. 75000 cases: Students forced for exams! #SpeakUpForStudentSafety," a Twitter user posted.
#SpeakUpForStudentSafety Government really need to look at psychological conditions of the candidates, should give proper instructions about how the students who affected by flood or COVID will be giving exams. Supreme Court really needs to reconsider its decision, posted another user.
Expressing his grievances, another student urged President Ram Nath Kovind to intervene.
#SpeakUpForStudentSafety I would like you Mr President @rashtrapatibhvn to indulge in this issue because the government is not helping us. They are throwing us in the valley of death and we don't want to die.. Please help us Sir..#UGCGuidelines #neetJEE2020," he tweeted.
While the NEET is slated to be held on September 13, engineering entrance exam JEE-Main is scheduled between September 1-6.
Many students, particularly those who went back to their home towns during the COVID-19-induced lockdown, cited geographical challenges to explain their request to postpone the examinations, a concern that was also raised by Congress leader Shashi Tharoor in a video on Friday.
Expressing solidarity with the brave students of the National Students Union of India, who went on a hunger strike in Bengaluru demanding that the examinations be postponed, Tharoor said that the Centre's decision made no sense. The students' worries found vindication in a post by a friend of a NEET aspirant.
The Twitter user shared a video of his friend's flooded residential area in Chhattisgarh, while rain continued to pour.
He wrote, "This is My friend VIKAS KHATRI'S House video in Khairagarh Chhattisgarh. He is Neet aspirant the electricity is off since 2 days, How he will manage equality with the Elite class students & his Centre is 85 km away just think @DrRPNishank #neetJEE2020 #SpeakUpForStudentSafety."
A JEE aspirant said he recently tested positive for the coronavirus and was currently confined to a COVID-19 centre.