Odisha govt urges NTA to hold NEET UG 2021 exam in all its 30 districts

 

The Odisha government has urged the National Testing Agency (NTA) to conduct the All- India NEET UG 2021 examinations in all the 30 districts of the state instead of selected seven cities.

Study Circle Online : The Odisha government has urged the National Testing Agency (NTA) to conduct the All- India NEET UG 2021 examinations in all the 30 districts of the state instead of selected seven cities.

The request was made by Additional Chief Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, P K Mohapatra in view of the COVID-19 pandemic situation still prevailing in the state.

The All India NEET UG Examination is conducted by the NTA for admission to MBBS/BDS courses and other undergraduate medical courses in approved/recognized Medical/Dental and other Colleges/ Institutes in India.

In a letter to NTA Director General, Vineet Joshi on Monday, Mohapatra said the state’s plea should be taken into consideration and the NEET UG examination be conducted in all the 30 districts.

The NTA has notified to set up examination centres in seven urban pockets of Odisha namely in Angul, Balasore, Berhampur, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Rourkela and Sambalpur.

In view of COVID-19 pandemic, it will be highly unsafe for students to visit the few examination centres to physically appear for the NEET UG 2021 test. Further, due to frequent lockdown and shutdown imposed by different district administrations the transportation system is very often disrupted making the movement of student’s further worse, Mohapatra mentioned in the letter.

“Odisha has got vast tribal pockets having geographically inaccessible areas and far away from the urban centres of the state for which the students of this state may be deprived of appearing the NEET UG as they will have to move long distance for appearing the test,” the letter said.

BHU suspends offline classes indefinitely after surge in COVID cases, asks students to go back home for Holi

 

The university said that the COVID-19 situation will be reviewed in the first week of April after which a decision on restarting offline classes will be taken.

Study Circle : Banaras Hindu University (BHU) has suspended all offline classes till further orders in view of the sudden surge in Coronavirus cases in the hostels and across the country. Classes will, however, continue online. In an official notice released on Monday, the varsity stated that all students have been advised to return to their homes and any kind of Holi celebration on the campus has been banned.

The university further added that cases of COVID-19 are on a rise every day and if the current trend continues it is likely that cases may rise even more in the coming days. “Hence, in the interest of the safety of the students, they are encouraged to go to their homes and leave the hostels by taking their books and study materials with them so that in the event of worsening of the situation they may continue their studies through online classes to be conducted by the concerned teachers and take the examination which may be conducted in the online mode if the situation so demands,” BHU stated in their notice.

There will not be any Milan Samaroh or gathering on the campus, including in the hostels for Holi celebrations, the varsity clearly mentioned. The university said that the COVID-19 situation will be reviewed in the first week of April after which a decision on restarting offline classes will be taken. Parents and guardians will be informed beforehand about the reopening of offline classes, following which the students can make suitable plans. However, the offices and other functions of the university shall continue as per the schedule and faculty members shall perform their duties, as usual, the varsity stated.

According to government data, India detected around 40,000 new COVID-19 infections in the last 24 hours. The Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday issued an order with guidelines for effective control of COVID-19 which will be effective from April 1, 2021, and remain in force until April 30, 2021. The guidelines mandate the State/UT governments to strictly enforce the Test-Track-Treat protocol in all parts of the country.