Over 100 academicians write to PM Modi backing JEE, NEET

Stating that it "wholeheartedly welcomes" the Government's move to hold the exams in September, the letter cites the Supreme Court order dismissing a petition to postpone these exams saying that any further delay in conducting the tests would result in waste of precious years for students.

The letter has been signed by professors from Delhi University, IGNOU, Lucknow University, BHU, IIT Delhi, University of London, University of California, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Ben Gurion University, Israel, among others.

Warning that any further delay would mean compromising the future of students, the letter notes the growing clamour to postpone the exams due to rising Covid cases, "Youths and students are the future of the nation but in wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, clouds of uncertainty have gathered over their careers too. There are a lot of apprehensions about admission and classes which need to be resolved at the earliest," the letter states.

"The government has announced the dates for JEE-Mains and NEET...any further delay in conducting the exams will result in waste of precious year for students. The dreams and future of our youth and students cannot be compromised at any cost. However, some are trying to play with the future of our students simply to propel their own political agenda and oppose the government," it says.

Reposing faith in the government, the academicians say they strongly believed that the central government will successfully conduct the JEE and NEET exams taking "full precautions to ensure that the future of students is taken care of and the academic calendar for 2020-21 is rolled out."