Downloading admit cards doesn't mean that we are ready for the exam: Students respond to Education Minister Pokhriyal

Speaking to a media house on Tuesday, the Union Minister of Education Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' said that the ministry was under so much pressure from the students and their parents to conduct JEE and NEET on the schedules dates. He also hinted that most students are ready and willing to write the examinations because most of them have downloaded the admit cards. "The Director-General of the NTA told me that around 7,50,000 JEE aspirants have downloaded their admit cards. This says that they want to write the exam," he said.

However, a large number of students said that they downloaded the admit card just to know where their exam centre is and they still want the exam to be postponed. Interestingly, a lot of students took to social media, posting photographs of them burning their admit cards. "I am writing this exam because I have no other option left. The government is forcing me to put my life in jeopardy here," says Himanshu Mittal, a student from Jaipur.

Someone who's been preparing for JEE since class VI, Himanshu says that he downloaded the admit card only to find out where his exam centre is. "I found out that it is around 60 kilometres away from home. The government cannot say that students are ready to write these entrances, just because they downloaded the admit cards," he says. "Also, will the government give me an assurance that I won't contract COVID if I attend JEE?" he asks.

Following these comments, the students are now asking fellow NEET aspirants to not download the NEET admit cards, but instead take screenshots. The admit cards were released on Wednesday.