75% of aspirants from West Bengal had been unable to turn up for JEE Main Exam: Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that 75% of the JEE Main 2020 candidates from West Bengal were unable to appear for the Day 1 of the exams on September 1. She blamed the Centre’s “ego” for it and said that in other states as well, only half of the JEE candidates could appear for the important engineering entrance exam.

The Bengal CM had been part of the group of seven chief ministers who tried to move Supreme Court to challenge Centres’ decision to conduct JEE and NEET during a pandemic. She had written twice to PM Narendra Modi on the issue as well but was unable to get a response.

A few other pleas had also been filed regarding postponing the exams but were all quashed. SC said that a full academic year couldn’t be lost because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

JEE Main is scheduled to be held from September 1-6, while the NEET UG 2020 exam is scheduled for September 13.

"Our students are in great trouble. So many of them were not able to attempt JEE. That's why we had requested the



central government to appeal to the Supreme Court or review the matter again so that students are not deprived," she told reporters, as per PTI.

She said on Wednesday that only 1167 candidates turned up for JEE on Tuesday from the 4652 total West Bengal candidates for the exam despite all the arrangements made by the state government.

"Who will be held responsible for those who could not sit for the examinations due to the COVID-19 pandemic?" she asked, expressing her displeasure at the BJP-led Central government going ahead with the JEE and NEET exams despite several appeals.

The CM said that students had requested for the exams to be postponed for a few more days because of health concerns and had not said that they wouldn’t appear for the exams at all.

"I am pained and I am shocked. I will again ask the Centre to review how many students could sit for the tests and how many could not in different states,” Banerjee said, expressing her sadness and shock with so many students unable to appear for JEE.