The Cabinet minister of Maharashtra and Yuva Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday requesting him to postpone all academic exams in the country. In the letter, he also suggested to consider the possibility of commencing the new academic year from January 2021 instead of June-July 2021, so that students do not lose a year.

In the letter, shared with the media, Thackeray said: “While most of our country is still working from home due to increasing Covid numbers, various institutions and universities for professional and non-professional courses have been trying to schedule examinations. This isn’t a practical and feasible option sir, as most states are facing increasing numbers of Covid cases, along with red zones still in place and transport yet to resume.”

He also said that, In our country, most students live with their parents and grandparents and infection among them could be fatal. The system holding exams for even a single subject would include not just students, but teachers, non-teaching staff and much more of the state apparatus, most of whom are in the high-risk groups.

Last week State Cabinet Minister for Social Justice and Special Assistance Department, Dhananjay Munde had protested against the Union Education Ministry's decision to hold NEET, JEE and other examinations despite the Covid pandemic.

In a tweet, Munde said that conducting examinations all over India in such a pandemic is risking lives of students. Most of the educational institutions are being used for quarantine centres. Some students are still fighting with the virus.

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