The Congress and various opposition parties have demanded that NEET and JEE examinations be deferred due to the COVID-19 pandemic and floods in parts of the country, even as the Union government has made it clear that they will be held as per schedule with due precautions.
Student bodies like the Left-affiliated All India Students' Association and the Congress-affiliated National Students' Union of India have been raising the issue and have demanded the postponement of the two exams.
What is pushing students to take this extreme step?
Fear of upcoming NEET examinations has allegedly led a girl student to die by suicide at her residence in Coimbatore, the police said on Wednesday.
Reaching India in time to be able to complete the mandatory quarantine period before the exam, arranging a stay before taking a flight back home, additional expenses, the risk of contracting COVID-19 and being quarantined again back home, are among several concerns on the mind of the aspirants.
The Congress's student and youth wings took to the streets in the national capital on Thursday over alleged irregularities in the conduct of the NEET-UG and UGC-NET exams, with NSUI members forcefully entering the NTA headquarters and locking its office, and the IYC staging a huge protest at Jantar Mantar.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear on Wednesday a plea related to the economically weaker section quota in NEET-PG admissions, after the Centre sought urgent hearing in the matter.
Dealing with the validity of OBC quota, the bench said, "Merit cannot be reduced to narrow definitions of performance in an open competitive examination which only provides formal equality of opportunity. Competitive examinations assess basic current competency to allocate educational resources but are not reflective of excellence, capabilities and potential of an individual which are also shaped by lived experiences, subsequent training and individual character."
The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the Punjab government's appeal against a high court verdict quashing its decision to expand the definition of 'NRI quota' for admissions in undergraduate medical and dental courses in the state. "This fraud must come to an end now," the apex court said.
Intensifying their stir over the delay in NEET-PG 2021 counselling, a large number of resident doctors on Tuesday protested on the premises of Centre-run Safdarjung Hospital while the Centre urged them to call off the agitation.
The NEET was conducted on September 13 amid strict precautions in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will announce the results online.
Here is an explainer on the functioning of the seven-year-old body.
The National Testing Agency announced that the JEE (Main) will be held from September 1 to 6 and NEET (UG) on September 13 after the Supreme Court dismissed a petition seeking the postponement of the NEET and JEE.
Noting that over 17 lakh out of nearly 25 lakh candidates have already downloaded admit cards for the medical and engineering entrance exams, Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' said his ministry has been receiving e-mails from students and parents that these exams should not be further postponed.
'What is the need to postpone the exam?'
The issue, which has been a matter of intense public discourse for past few months, has evoked contrasting views with many backing the holding of the tests fearing that it may lead to a zero academic year for students, and the Opposition and activists demanding their postponement in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dominic Xavier mulls over the Agni Pariksha for students caught in the tussle between the government and Opposition parties.
The five women were arrested after interrogation by the police team probing the case, a police official told PTI.
In a statement, the Federation of Resident Doctors' Association said the decision has been taken in view of the developments in the last few days in connection with the issue, and the death of chief of defence staff General Bipin Rawat and others in a helicopter crash on Wednesday.
Intensifying its stir over the delay in NEET-PG 2021 counselling, a federation of resident doctors association on Saturday said its members will be forced to go for "mass resignation" from services if their demands are not met at the earliest.
With the tweet, Gandhi also tagged a video of him urging the government to listen to students and take a decision only after reaching a consensus.
Now candidates can appear for NEET any number of times.
Girl students were forced to appear for the exam in front of other boy students and male invigilators which made these girls really uncomfortable and disturbed them mentally and physically.
The state government had announced relief of Rs 7 lakh to her family.
This is the thirteenth case of suspected suicide by a coaching student in Kota since January.
Clearly, all of the NEET coaching classes are beyond the capacity of a child from a BPL family.
Various state governments had announced free transportation and accommodation, including West Bengal that ran special metro service for candidates.
Victim Vaibhav Roy was among the 36 students from Jawahar Nagar area in Kota who were suffering from the disease in the last few days.
The review plea has been filed by ministers from West Bengal (Moloy Ghatak), Jharkhand (Rameshwar Oraon), Rajasthan (Raghu Sharma), Chhattisgarh (Amarjeet Bhagat), Punjab (B S Sidhu) and Maharashtra (Uday Ravindra Sawant).
An exasperated Justice Chandrachud asserted he will not allow any lawyer to "dictate" the procedure of the court.
The notification of the Act comes just a day after Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan was asked when the legislation would be implemented. The minister had said the law ministry was framing the rules.
The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) will be conducted on Sunday, May 5, 2019.
Once the Covid crisis subsides in the state, the NEET exam this year, whether conducted or cancelled, could become an electoral issue next year, along with the BC-MBC reservations issue, especially the 'creamy layer' aspect, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
At a meeting convened by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on a range of issues ahead of Monsoon Session of Parliament, the seven chief ministers unanimously agreed to the need for filing a review petition urging the Supreme Court to reconsider its recent order rejecting the postponement of the competitive exams.
All private medical colleges will come under the ambit of National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, Health Minister J P Nadda said on Tuesday after an Ordinance to keep the state boards out of it for a year was signed by President Pranab Mukherjee.
In a relief to thousands of young doctors pursuing higher specialisation courses, the Centre on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that in the interest of students, it has decided to implement changes in the pattern of the NEET-Super Speciality (NEET-SS) examination from the academic year 2022-23.
This roadmap will benefit nearly 13 lakh students who have registered for the medical entrance exam this year.
Pranab Mukherjee signed the ordinance to keep state boards out of the common entrance test for MBBS and dental courses for this year.
The medical entrance exam NEET was scheduled for July 26, while the JEE-Mains for admission to engineering colleges was to be held from July 18-23.
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