Greta Thunberg voices support to calls for postponement of NEET, JEE exams
London: Swedish teen climate change campaigner Greta Thunberg on Tuesday threw her weight behind postponing the NEET and the JEE exams in India in view of the coronavirus, saying it is deeply unfair that students are asked to appear in the tests during the pandemic.
Several students and political leaders across the country, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and DMK President M K Stalin, have urged the central government to postpone the examination until the spread of the COVID-19 was brought under control.
Voicing her support to the calls for the deferment of the key national examinations, Thunberg took to Twitter, saying it is deeply unfair for the students.
It's deeply unfair that students of India are asked to sit national exams during the Covid-19 pandemic and while millions have also been impacted by the extreme floods. I stand with their call to #PostponeJEE_NEETinCOVID, she said in a tweet.
Thunberg, 17, has become a leading voice for action on climate change, inspiring millions of students to join protests around the world. She was named Time magazine's Person of the Year for 2019.
Two years ago, she started missing lessons most Fridays to protest outside the Swedish Parliament building, in what turned out to be the beginning of a huge environmental movement.
The chorus for postponing the various examinations, including NEET and JEE, grew louder on Sunday with over 4,000 students observing a day-long hunger strike to press for the demand in view of the rising COVID-19 cases.
The protest came on a day Gandhi said the government must listen to the 'mann ki baat' of students and arrive at "an acceptable solution" and his party demanded that the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) be deferred.
According to the leftist All India Students Association (AISA), over 4,200 students observed the day-long hunger strike at their respective home demanding that CBSE compartment exams of Classes 10 and 12 be cancelled and entrance exams such as the UGC-NET, CLAT, NEET and JEE be postponed.
Aspirants appear in the JEE for admission into the premier engineering colleges and the NEET for undergraduate medical courses.
The JEE (Main) is scheduled to be held between September 1 and 6, while the JEE (Advanced) on September 27. The NEET will be held on September 13.
With 60,975 people testing positive for the coronavirus infection in a day, India's COVID-19 tally on Tuesday rose to 31,67,323, while recoveries surged to 24,04,585, pushing the recovery rate to 75.92 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry data.
The death toll climbed to 58,390 with 848 fatalities being reported in a span of 24-hours, it said.
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KKR defeat LSG via Super Over
Lucknow (PTI): Kolkata Knight Riders edged Lucknow Super Giants via Super Overs in a battle between two bottom-placed teams in the IPL, here on Sunday.
Chasing a modest 156, LSG suffered a batting collapse and managed to tie the contest and take it to Super Over with No. 9 Mohammed Shami striking a last-ball six against a wayward Kartik Tyagi, who leaked 16 runs in the final over.
But Sunil Narine bowled a stunning Super Over conceding just one run and taking two wickets to give KKR an easy target.
Rinku Singh then finished the chase with a boundary off first ball from Prince Yadav.
Earlier the KKR were in deep trouble with 93/7 in 15 overs but Rinku smashed a sensational 83 not out from 51 balls including four sixes in a row in the final over to lift them to 155/7.
Cameron Green (34) was the only other batter to reach double-digit scores as KKR suffered a familiar batting meltdown with Mohsin taking his maiden fifer.
In reply, LSG continued their dismal show with the bat to succumb to their fifth loss in a row.
Brief Scores:
Kolkata Knight Riders 155/7; 20 overs (Rinku Singh 83 not out, Cameron Green 34; Mohsin Khan 5/23). Lucknow Super Giants 155/8; 20 overs (Rishabh Pant 42). KKR won via Super Over.
