After the Supreme Court’s refusal to postpone the dates for the JEE and NEET examinations 2020 despite huge risk of spread of coronavirus, lakhs of 12th graders across India are in panic mode. Their parents are worried more.

The examinations are slated at the time when India’s tally of covdi19 cases has crossed 29 lakh including 55,000 deaths. Over 60,000 cases are added on a daily basis despite social distancing and mask rules in place in the “Mission Begin Again” phase.

Offices and factories continue to function with 50 percent or less manpower. Even courts are taking up urgent matters only. Lockdowns are being repeated in many states in phases as things are getting out of control.

Although the government hasn't accepted community transmission yet, the way scores of Union and State ministers, top IAS and IPS and other officials are getting infected is an indication that things are not as cool as it is being projected. Some ministers and legislators in many states have succumbed to the virus.

JEE-Main is scheduled to be held from 1-6 September, while NEET is scheduled on 13 September. Students have been demanding delaying the exam, which has already been postponed twice.

“Conducting the aforesaid examination across India at such perilous time, is nothing else but putting lives of lakhs of young students at utmost risk and danger of disease and death. The best recourse at this stage can wait for some more time, let Covid-19 crisis subside and then only conduct these exams, in order to save the lives of the students and their parents,” the candidates plea in supreme court had stated.

The SC dismissed the petition saying that “precious years of students cannot be wasted and life has to go on”.

To see career and life going, one needs to be alive. Every candidate can’t afford a PPE kit to don in the examination centre. Unlike doctors, class 12 students are not used to wearing gloves. Writing exams with gloves is also impractical.

To make matters worse, the national testing agency has asked candidates to submit a self-declaration form along with a photograph, saying they have not tested positive for Covid-19 and have not had any symptoms like fever, dry cough or difficulty in breathing in the recent days.

This form will have to be submitted at the examination centre after it is verified by an exam centre officer and signed by the candidate on the spot.

This means that lakhs of students will now have to queue up outside the hospitals to get themselves tested before appearing for the test themselves. This will only maximise their risk of catching infection and mental stress.

Perhaps this is the high time that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes cognizance of the widespread concern of lakhs of youngsters and their parents across India.

This is the “Mann ki Baat” people would like to hear from the country’s top leader at this point of time.

If the exam is held after a few months when cases subside, then the candidates would be in better mental condition to appear in these toughest competitive examinations which decides their career and lives.

The present circumstances may compel many to skip the test and choose some other path. Over 18 percent candidates in UP’s BEd entrance exam conducted early this month had skipped the test.

Over 9 lakh candidates have registered for JEE and 18 lakh for NEET. Had they been a political outfit or voetbank, the government would have possibly listened to them.