Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday wrote a letter to Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, over postponing JEE (Main) and NEET exams, that are slated to be held in September. 

The JEE (Main) is scheduled from September 1 to 6 and NEET will be held on September 13.

The CM cited the prevailing COVID-19 situation in India, that would make it “unsafe and highly perilous” for students to appear in the exams. As on Tuesday, India has reported over 3.1 million cases of coronavirus.

He also cited the disruption of transportation services due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown, that would make it difficult for students to reach test centers. Also, the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts JEE (Main) and NEET, has opened test centres in only seven out of the state’s 30 districts, the letter stated.

This might be especially troublesome for the students living in Odisha’s tribal pockets, that are geographically inaccessible and far away from the urban centres. “The students of these areas may be deprived of appearing in these tests, as they will have to travel long distances to come to the examination centres,” the letter stated.

In view of these issues, the CM has requested the Union Minister to postpone these tests to a later date.

He also asked the NTA to open test centres in all 30 districts of the state.