Two students who appeared for Kerala Engineering Architecture Medical (KEAM) examination at two different exam centres in Thiruvananthapuram have tested positive for COVID-19, news agency ANI said in a tweet on Tuesday. The examination was held on Thursday.
According to a report in TOI, one student from Karakulam attended the exam at Karamana while another student from Pozhiyur attended the exam at Thycaud.
The students who have tested positive for COVID-19 have been shifted to treatment centres and contact tracing of other students who attended the exam in the same hall has been initiated.
Meanwhile, Yuva Sena Secretary Varun Sardesai reacted to the news on Twitter and wrote, "Aur karo compulsory exams."
Sardesai's remark comes amid the ongoing tussle between the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the Maharashtra Govt over conducting the final-year exams.
The UGC has asked universities to chalk out a plan for the completion of terminal semester/final-year examinations by the end of September. However, the Maharashtra Government is firm on its decision on cancellation of these exams because of the COVID-19 crisis
Varun Sardesai had earlier said the UGC was being adamant on compulsory examinations, despite the Yuva Sena having written to them multiple times. ''The Maharashtra Government has already taken a decision to cancel final-year exams. COVID-19 cases are on the rise in almost all states and hence the Yuva Sena has requested the UGC to cancel exams throughout the country in these extraordinary times. As the UGC is adamant, the Yuva Sena has filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court,'' he noted.
The Yuva Sena has also received over two lakh signatures supporting the cancellation of exams. It is also backed by the youth wings of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress.
Meanwhile, Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor has also asked UGC and the HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal to postpone the exams. He wrote, "Kerala is already paying the price for the Govtās unwise decision, despite appeals from students & this MP, to hold the #KEAM exams amid the lockdown. I urge ā¦@DrRPNishankā© & UGC not to repeat this mistake elsewhere in the country. #PostponeExams!"
