On Friday, the Uttar Pradesh government sent 250 buses to Rajasthan’s Kota city to bring back stranded students amid the ongoing nationwide lockdown to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Around 7,500 students from Uttar Pradesh were living in the the city, which is famous for its scores of coaching centres that help aspirants prepare for engineering and medical entrance exams, reported the Press Trust of India. The students had been stranded in the city since March 24, when the Union government announced a country-wide lockdown, halting movement across state borders.

Why was a special exception made for Kota students during the lockdown?