NEET, JEE Main 2020: Sonu Sood highlights Bihar floods, says, 'Exams should be postponed'

Sonu Sood on Tuesday took to his Twitter handle to express his opinion on the ongoing Joint Entrance Examination (Main) and the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) controversy. Sood asserted that 'postponing' the exams would be in the favour of children who come from 'remote areas'.

He wrote, "The children who appear for the examination come from remote areas. If there is flood in some village in Bihar, then there is a complete arrest in any district. Yes, examination is necessary but the protection of those young shoulders is equally important. When everything has come to a halt in front of nature, then exams should also be postponed for some time"

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has scheduled to conduct the medical and engineering entrance exams - NEET and JEE (Main) - in September.

#NEETJEE परीक्षा में बैठने वाले बच्चे सुदूर इलाकों से आते हैं।बिहार के किसी गांव में बाढ़ है तो किसी जिले में पूरी बंदी। हां,परीक्षा जरूरी है लेकिन उन युवा कंधो की हिफ़ाज़त भी उतनी ही जरूरी है।पूरे विश्व में सबकुछ प्रकृति के सामने ठहर गया तो परीक्षा को कुछ वक्त के लिए टालना चाहिए pic.twitter.com/QABfYbPcsX

— sonu sood (@SonuSood)

It's my request to government of India, to postpone the #Neet/#JEE exams in the current situation of the country! In the given #COVID19 situation, we should care utmost & not risk the lives of students! #PostponeJEE_NEETinCOVID@EduMinOfIndia @PMOIndia

— sonu sood (@SonuSood)

Amid soaring coronavirus cases, it is believed that if the examinations are conducted then lives of around 25 lakh candidates will be at risk. The students have argued that with the evidence of the virus being airborne, conducting an exam of such a magnitude will only result in a disaster. Parents are equally worried and have argued that with huge crowds, social distancing will naturally take a backseat, especially with the amount of stress and anxiety that the aspirants will be going through. 

Transport also remains a huge concern among students, parents and activists. Railways remain closed and public transports are either very less or not accessible. Additionally, the activists noted that public transport does pose even more risk of contracting the virus because of the number of interactions one would have with the public.

NEET, JEE Main 2020: Mamata writes to PM Modi again, asks Centre to file review plea in SC