Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said 75 per cent of JEE-Main candidates in the state could not appear for the exam held on September 1

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said 75 per cent of JEE-Main candidates in the state could not appear for the exam held on September 1 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and blamed the Centre's "ego" for it.

In other states, only half of the examinees managed to turn up due to the Covid-19 pandemic situation, she claimed.

Mamata BanerjeeBanerjee urged the Centre to rethink about those who could not manage to appear for the crucial test.

"Our students are in great trouble. So many of them were not able to attempt JEE. That's why we had requested the central government to appeal to the Supreme Court or review the matter again so that students are not deprived," she said.

"Yesterday, out of 4,652 candidates for JEE in West Bengal only 1,167 could appear for it despite all arrangements by the state government for them. This means only 25 per cent could attempt to write the examinations and the rest 75 per cent could not in West Bengal. We had made the arrangements as per the instructions of the central government," she added.

Mamata Banerjee and Narendra ModiBanerjee expressed her displeasure with the BJP-led Central government for its stand on holding JEE/NEET despite several appeals. "Who will be held responsible for those who could not sit for the examinations due to the Covid-19 pandemic?" she asked.

"What would have gone wrong if the examinations were deferred by another few days? Why is there so much of ego? Why are you so stubborn? ... Who gave you the right to spoil the future of the students," she said.

JEE-Main

She said the students didn't refuse to sit for the exams and had only requested to defer them by a few more days during the pandemic due to concerns about their health.

Stating that she felt sad for those students who could not appear for the examinations, the chief minister said, "I am pained and I am shocked. I will again ask the Centre to review how many students could sit for the tests and how many could not in different states".