Cong moves in to rally forces seeking deferment of JEE/NEET exams. But does it have an alternative schedule?
Once again, a students’ protest movement has come in handy for the Opposition to take on the Government and claim some relevance, now that the pandemic-induced cooperative federalism is on the wane. And given the benighted Congress a reason to put itself at the forefront. As the Coronavirus continues to spiral, students across the country are mounting massive pressure on the Government to postpone the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and the National Entrance Eligibility Test (NEET) exams. They are planning to protest from their homes at an appointed hour — waving black flags, wearing black masks and changing their profile photo to a black dot — challenging the Government’s decision to hold the tests as scheduled. This is a bit double-edged, what with anxiety about exposing 28 lakh students to a potential hazard on one side and jeopardising their academic careers that are dependent on timely exams on the other. That’s why the Supreme Court had said that one could not play with students’ lives on a mere threat perception and advised the National Testing Agency (NTA) to “move ahead with all safeguards.” It had further argued that “COVID may continue for a year more. Are you going to wait another year?” But as cases continue to surge, students and parents are a worried lot even though the Government claimed that 80 per cent of admit cards had already been downloaded. Given the finality of the schedule, students may have downloaded the forms but are not at all confident that safety protocols, even if followed meticulously, would be foolproof. It is this collective youth anxiety and the Centre’s seeming insensitivity to their concerns that Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi acted upon, by convening a meeting of Opposition Chief Ministers to take up cudgels on behalf of the students as a matter of national interest. While Congress CMs were expected to attend the virtual session, Sonia made sure that those of the party’s alliance partners, Maharashtra’s Uddhav Thackeray and Jharkhand’s Hemant Soren, were there too. But her biggest coup was getting Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee to co-initiate the campaign for putting exams on hold. Banerjee led a collective call to file a review petition in the Supreme Court on what has become an emotive issue for the youth, their middle class parents and society in general. The challenges indeed are many. Most parents are facing financial distress and would find bearing the costs of transportation, accommodation and the medical treatment of their wards appearing for the exam a burden. Besides, what about the plight of lakhs of students belonging to the flood-affected States of Bihar, Assam and the North-east who would find it impossible to appear for the tests?
Sonia Gandhi, emerging from an intra-party crisis after loyalists questioned the party’s future, seems eager to prove that she has acted on their concerns. First, she was fast to harness the swell of opinion against the Government on the exams and make it a new rallying cry of the entire Opposition. She dispelled concerns that the Congress leadership doesn’t seize the moment at the right time. Second, she heeded their advice that the party should try to reconnect with its breakaway units and forge an umbrella strategy. Since Mamata had already written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi twice, seeking deferment of exams, Sonia roped her in as a prime mover of a combined Opposition campaign. By doing so, Sonia also emphasised how she could reach out to other parties as a negotiator, though that cannot qualify as a Gandhi trait, her son failing miserably to establish such a connect. She had wanted Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on board, too, but had to bow to her state unit, which is the Opposition in the State. She had even invited Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal though the latter decided to stay away. Third, she dovetailed the 14 per cent GST compensation to States in the agenda ahead of today’s GST council meeting to grill the Government on why it could not default on payments. But question is will the Congress piggyback the JEE exams for its internal consumption or can it indeed convert it into a political crusade? The Opposition strategy better be sharp as the Government has already built its counter-argument. The BJP is citing examples of how Goa, Karnataka and Kerala held exams for both classes X and XII with precaution and without any spreader event. Despite misgivings, postponing JEE/NEET would compound the stress levels of students, who have been preparing for them since Class X. Not holding them could also mean the loss of an academic year and would frustrate talent. So the Opposition should be specific about postponement within reasonable timelines, list the difficulties in worst-hit States and suggest an alternative implementable plan. Or else it could just end up looking like a windbag attacking the BJP out of old habit than feeling genuinely for students.
