WB CM Mamata Banerjee opposes Centre's decision over NEET, JEE

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday urged the Centre for the second time to postpone NEET, JEE 2020. She said that the exams should not be held until the situation is conducive again.

The West Bengal CM said if the exams are conducted as scheduled, it would put students' lives at risk from the COVID-19 pandemic.

"In our last video conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modiji, I had been vocal against the UGC guidelines mandating completion of terminal examinations in universities and colleges by the end of September 2020, which had a huge potential to put student lives at risk," Banerjee tweeted.

It is to be noted that NEET is scheduled on September 13 and JEE-Mains will be held from September 1-6. "Now with the directive of the Education Ministry to conduct NEET, JEE 2020 in September, I would again appeal to the Centre to assess the risk and postpone these examinations until the situation is conducive again, she said.

Earlier, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi had also urged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government to consider the 'Mann Ki Baat' of students and address the postponement issue of the entrance examinations. Meanwhile, India on Monday recorded 61,408 fresh cases of Covid-19 and 836 deaths in the last 24-hours.

"It is our duty to ensure a safe environment for all our students," Banerjee said.