Why the Hurry to Conduct JEE-NEET?
For India, it is the season of examinations. The country has been reeling under an economic slowdown and the Coronavirus pandemic. During this time, the Centre has failed in all tests so much so that it is looking at God to resolve its problems. Despite being on the brink of helplessness and frustration, the Centre is being stubborn over conducting Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) examinations for admission to engineering and medical colleges respectively. It is all set to conduct the examinations as though the country’s future is dependent on these examinations.
As the number of incidents of the Coronavirus is increasing alarmingly on a daily basis, students, parents, and leaders of several political parties all over the country are demanding that JEE, NEET, and other entrance examinations for professional courses be postponed. Regardless of the opposition, the Centre has taken a firm decision to conduct the JEE-NEET examinations. But, the campaign for postponing JEE-NEET for admission to medical colleges is gathering steam.
The concept of examination by itself creates a lot of stress. There is no doubt that conducting these examinations amidst so much of pressure can lead to disastrous consequences. Having spread fear among the people about the Coronavirus and having imposed a nation-wide lockdown for two months and thereby destroying the lives of people, it is ironical that the Centre is now treating the Coronavirus lightly and wants to conduct the examinations. The Centre does not seem to care about the impact that the conduct of such public examinations could have on the health of the students and has completely failed to address students concerns.
The likelihood of the Coronavirus infecting students who write the examinations for several hours sitting together in the same room is very high. The future of students would certainly be endangered if examinations on such a massive scale are conducted in countries such as India that are struggling in the face of lack of adequate basic infrastructure to fight the pandemic. According to an estimate, close to 25 lakh students are expected to write the JEE-NEET examinations. It is possible that these students can get infected during the examinations. Even if these students are asymptomatic, the infection could spread through them to their parents and their grand parents and the impact of such a spread cannot even be imagined. The Centre that has failed completely to tackle the spread of the virus will, by conducting the examinations, only be creating a way to increase the number of the infected.
Besides, the transportation facilities all over the country have been skeletal after Covid-19 and this could create problems for students who have to reach the examination centres in time. Also, questions arise over how far the government can succeed in implementing its decision to establish isolation wards in all examination centres for students who are symptomatic. Moreover, forcing symptomatic students to travel outside their homes is like inviting them to get infected. Amidst such an imminent health threat and the high level of anxieties, the Narendra Modi government has stuck to its decision to conduct these examinations. The Supreme Court has also justified the Centre’s stand by stating that students would be losing out a precious year if the examinations are to be postponed.
The decision of the Centre to conduct the examinations by completely ignoring the concerns of students and parents is diametrically opposite to its stand of imposing a nation-wide lockdown in March. The Modi government had imposed on March 24 a nation-wide lockdown to stop the spread of the Coronavirus. The lockdown was so stringent that the transportation facilities all over the country came to a complete standstill and lakhs of migrant workers lost their jobs, hunger and poverty staring at them. The police went to the extent of wielding their lathis on people who ventured out to buy food and other essentials. In the absence of any alternative, many migrants left on foot to reach their villages hundreds of miles away. The situation became so grave that hundreds of people lost their lives due to the lockdown. In a hurry to reach their villages, many migrants lost their lives en route because of sheer exhaustion, hunger, and health problems. Several others lost their lives in accidents. People are now wondering why the Centre is so stubborn in conducting these examinations in this background and when it had imposed a lockdown across the country to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus in the first place.
In the midst of the pandemic, parliament sessions are taking place in various countries. But, in India, there is a reluctance to convene parliament. The Centre is hesitating to gather MPs who number a few hundreds and conduct proceedings. It is possible for the government to ensure the safety of the members of parliament during the session as their number is small, but the government is not ready to take any risk in the case of MPs. With this being the case, the government should answer the question as to how far the government can succeed in protecting lakhs of students who will appear for the JEE-NEET examinations. Politicians who take so much care about their health should adopt the same attitude towards the youth of the country. The Centre should immediately heed the demand of the youth.
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Axar shifts focus to next IPL after KKR all but end DC's campaign
New Delhi (PTI): A beleaguered Axar Patel admitted that both his team's batters and bowlers let the side down after Delhi Capitals suffered a humiliating eight-wicket defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders, virtually ending their IPL 2026 playoff hopes, while indicating the team had already begun looking ahead to the next season.
DC endured a miserable outing at home, managing only 142/8, which Kolkata Knight Riders chased down in just 14.2 overs, powered by a blistering unbeaten 100 from Finn Allen and his destructive stand with Cameron Green (33 not out) as the visitors tore apart the bowling attack.
With just eight points from 11 matches, DC are eighth on the table, while KKR revived their playoff hopes with a resurgent run, moving to seventh with nine points from 10 outings, though their road to the knockouts still remains difficult.
"For now, we'll go back and think about the mistakes we made. After that, obviously there's still a long journey ahead and next year will come too. So we'll think about what plans we can make for next year and what approach we should take," said Axar after the match.
"Based on that, we can also look at the players sitting on the bench and decide who can be given opportunities and what changes we can make," he added, hinting at a possible major overhaul next season.
With 200-plus totals becoming the norm this season, 142 was always going to be inadequate, and Axar admitted the score was well below par while also pointing out at poor judgement shown by the spinners while defending the modest total.
"I think the runs were definitely below par and at the same time the spinners made quite a few mistakes. Looking at the way the pitch behaved, I feel the spinners did make errors.
"At the same time, we lost five wickets in two-three overs, and I think that's where the momentum slipped away from us. That's probably something we need to think about because the same thing happened against CSK...we started well, and then suddenly wickets kept falling," he added.
He admitted the solutions to the issues could be found but players need to show the right mindset and character.
"See, you can't solve it in a complicated way. So, I think it's more about applying the right mindset. Even if you lose one or two wickets, you can still spend time at the crease and play through it. I think that's what needs to be applied, when wickets are falling in clusters, you need to absorb the pressure for an over or two," opined Axar.
KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane was pleased to see a struggling Finn Allen finally rediscover his touch with the bat.
"I'm really happy for Finn Allen. He was struggling first four or five games, working really hard, but the way he batted tonight was fantastic. But I want to praise our bowlers again.
"We did well because of them. And they've been doing it so well consistently, especially those middle overs and the death overs. Our spinners, Sunil Narine, Varun (Chakravarthy) and Anukul Roy, have been fantastic," he said.
"Fielding-wise, yes, we are working really hard. Our fielding coach has been really strict with us. And that's what has been helping us. The result which you've been seeing about the catches and the ground fielding, credit goes to our fielding coach as well," he added.
