Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Students Association (JKSA) urged Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to establish centres in Srinagar amid the COVID-19 pandemic, for Kashmiri students to take entrance examinations for Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Jamia Milia Islamia (JMI), Delhi University, and Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).
Nasir Khuehami, the Association’s spokesperson, said in a statement that because most of the students come from marginalised communities, it is impossible for them to purchase plane tickets to go to neighbouring states and appear for examinations.
‘Hundreds of students from the Kashmir Valley are appearing for the entrance examinations for JNU, Delhi University (DU), JMI, and AMU. The problem is that students from Kashmir have their centres in Delhi and Aligarh. The present circumstances of COVID-19 could prove fatal for the aspirants. The students said that it is not possible for them to afford air tickets to travel to other states and appear for exams. Most of the students are hailing from marginalised communities,’ said Nasir in the statement.
Mr Khuehami also voiced the concern of parents, who claim that their children are being forced to travel in order to take these impending exams. As the examinations will be conducted from next month, many students are afraid of contracting the deadly virus and are debating whether to go or not. It is difficult for students to go to other locations when the majority of pupils have not yet been vaccinated, and the risk of a third wave exists, he warned.
Despite the epidemic, these colleges have not assigned a centre to Kashmir, leaving local students stranded.
Davood Ahmad, JKSA Secretary stated: ‘It will be very inconvenient for the Kashmiri students to travel all the way and spend money on accommodation in other states if their examination centres are not arranged locally. This is a grave situation especially for the students belonging to the average income group who can not afford the travel and accommodation expenses.’ He also asked LG Sinha to look into the matter immediately and hoped that he would take it up at the right level.
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