More than 150 academicians from across the country and abroad wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that delaying the medical and engineering entrance exams, JEE-Mains and NEET, any further will lead to compromising the future of students.
While the NEET is scheduled for September 13, engineering entrance exam JEE Main is scheduled from September 1 till September 6. Nearly 9.53 lakh candidates have registered for JEE-Mains and 15.97 lakh students for NEET.
National Testing Agency (NTA) says, JEE (Main) and NEET (UG) exams will be held on the dates announced earlier, which are 1st to 6th September and 13th September respectively. pic.twitter.com/TUwxjxn0tl
— ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2020
These examinations have been deferred twice in the wake of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The National Vice President of All India Students' Association (AISA) Ashutosh Kumar, on August 21, shared two screenshots apparently of reports by News18 and NDTV.
The News18 screenshot states that 57 parents and grandparents of students who appeared for a similar entrance exam in Karanataka lost their lives after over 5,000 students tested positive for COVID.
The screenshot of the NDTV report states that 60 students have tested positive for COVID-19 after appearing for an exam in Karnataka.
"This is what happened when only 80,000 candidates appeared for exams all over India just think when 28 Lac students will be appearing what will be the condition! Still they say student cannot decide their welfare. #ProtestAgainstExamsInCOVID," the tweet reads. At the time of writing this report, the tweet was shared over 3,000 times.
Sir please look at this. 57 deaths and 5371 students affected. Is this the way of learning lessons and playing with our and our parents life? Answer sir please answer. Support the future of nation. You are the fourth pilar of democracy. We have faith on our media. pic.twitter.com/s5ib9kA0JO
— BhaskarM@7064 (@BhaskarM70641) August 22, 2020
17,000 childrens affected due to #COVID in https://t.co/0BWu78cGLc KA @CMofKarnataka 57+deaths and 5371+ve #COVID cases among students who attended #COMEDK UGETexams.8456quarantined.@CMOTamilNadu @CMOKerala @Vijayabaskarofl @BJP4Karnataka pleaseshow ursupportto postpone neet jee
— Vidhyacharan s v /சரண் (@SVidhyacharan) August 24, 2020
The Logical Indian received a request to verify the claims.
Claim:
News18 report says 5,000 students taking entrance exam got COVID-19.
The NEWS 18 screenshot is fake.
According to the screenshot, the report was published on August 20.
"COMDEK UGET 2020: 57 deaths With 5371 students tested +ve for Covid 19, 8456 students qurantined," reads the title of the report.
"Students appeared for the COMDEK many been tested positive for covid 19 with 57 grandparents and parents deaths students onfire," reads the subheading.
No such report was found on the News 18 website or by other news outlets. Also, the screenshot is rife with grammatical errors.
The exam mentioned in the report reads ' COMDEK', however, the actual abbreviation is COMEDK UGET. The abbreviation stands for Consortium of Medical, Engineering and Dental Colleges of Karnataka Under Graduate Entrance Test. Further, the word 'quarantined' is misspelt as 'qurantined'.
NDTV Screenshot
In this screenshot, the headline reads, "60 СOVID-19 Positive Among 1.47 Lakh Students Who Appeared For CET in Karnataka".
"Sixty COVID-19 positive students were among the 1.47 lakh who appeared for the Karnataka Common Entrance Test for engineering and other courses which began on Thursday," reads the subheading.
The article with the same headline was published by NDTV on July 31. The report talks about the Karnataka Common Entrance Test (CET) which began on July 30. The report is not related to the COMEDK examinations which were conducted on August 19.
Below is a comparison of the screenshots of the viral (left) and original report (right):
"Elaborate arrangements were made for the COVID-19 infected students to appear for the exam. They were brought to the examination centres and dropped back to their respective places in the department's ambulance," Deputy Chief Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan was quoted as saying.
According to him, separate sitting arrangements were made for the COVID-19 students and they faced the examination courageously.
Therefore, the AISA National Vice-President Ashutosh Kumar shared a fake News18 screenshot and an old NDTV report on the CET exams held back in July.
The claims were debunked by AltNews earlier.
If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343.
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Aditi, part of the fact checking team of The Logical Indian likes to read, write, cook and laugh, in short live life as it is supposed to be. What makes her fascinated is to discover the truth behind a story and more often than not, it is either fact or myth at the end.
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