Nishank asks Goa CM to provide security for NEET, JEE exams

The Goa government on Monday assured to provide all assistance for conducting NEET and JEE exams, a day after Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank requested Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to make elaborate security arrangements.

The Goa government on Monday assured to provide all assistance for conducting NEET and JEE exams, a day after Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank requested Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to make elaborate security arrangements. The state has set up 17 centres where 6,939 students would be appearing for these exams, the Union minister tweeted on Sunday.

"Goa government will provide all assistance and support to hold NEET and JEE by following all safety measures. Under the #COVID19 scenario, examinations like GCET, Diploma and Board examinations have been conducted successfully which had more than 22,000 students appearing.

"Goa is prepared to hold these examinations by ensuring that all guidelines are followed," the chief minister tweeted. Nishank on Sunday tweeted he had held an extensive discussion with Sawant on holding of the prestigious NEET-JEE examinations, scheduled next month, in the coastal state.

"I have requested CM to have elaborate security arrangements and facilities at these centres," he had said in another tweet. The opposition Congress in Goa had demanded that the medical and engineering entrance exams NEET and JEE be postponed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Three leaders of the Congress-affiliated National Students Union of India (NSUI) were detained on Saturday after they sat on a hunger strike at the Azad Maidan in Panaji, demanding that JEE and NEET examinations be postponed. On Friday, ministers of six non-BJP ruled states moved the Supreme Court against its August 17 order allowing the exams.

The top court had refused to interfere with the conduct of the medical and engineering entrance exams, saying life must go on and students can't lose a precious year due to the pandemic.