Chennai, August 24: The Joint Entrance Examination and National Eligibility cum Entrance Test should be postponed until the spread of COVID-19 was brought under control, DMK President M K Stalin on Monday urged Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal.

Besides COVID-19, which has wreaked havoc on the nation, many parts of the country were yet to recover from the recent floods that have ravaged people's livelihoods, he said in a letter to Pokhriyal. NEET 2020: Supreme Court Declines Plea to Set Up Entrance Exam Centres Abroad.

Students and parents are under enormous mental stress, he said, adding that considering the current restrictions on public transportation, the allotted exam centres are not uniformly accessible to all aspirants.

"It will not be possible for students belonging to rural areas and less-privileged sections to reach the exam centres. They will be put under a great disadvantage against their affluent counterparts."

While around 25 lakh students are expected to sit for this years NEET and JEE, the National Testing Agency has made it mandatory for the students to give an undertaking that they "are neither COVID-19 positive nor have any symptoms for the same."

However, in light of the fact that most of the infected population in India remains asymptomatic, demanding self declaration from the students does not seem to be effective in any possible way, the Dravidian party chief argued.

If those appearing for the exams contracted the virus, there are "high possibilities of another wave of infections" across the country. NEET, JEE Main 2020: Mamata Banerjee Urges Centre Second Time to Postpone Entrance Exams Amid COVID-19 Pandemic.

"No decision shall be made in haste putting the lives of students at stake. The government shall act, keeping the well-being and future of students in mind. In the light of the severe difficulties, I sincerely request you to postpone the JEE, NEET exams until COVID-19 is brought under control," he urged.

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