Amid immense opposition from all quarters, the National Testing Agency (NTA) has reiterated that the JEE (Main) and NEET (UG) examinations will be held as per schedule. JEE Mains are scheduled to be held from September 1 to 6 and NEET is scheduled to be held on September 13. The agency issued the statement even as hashtags against the government’s decisions and demanding the postponement of the exams, like #PostponeJEE_NEETinCOVID, have been trending for the past few days on social media.
According to a report in The Hindu, officials in the Home Ministry are reconsidering the schedule for the exams, but that officials from the Education Ministry have ruled that option out.
The exams were earlier scheduled to be held in July but were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic to be held in September.
In its August 25 release, the NTA noted that the Supreme Court has also said that there is ‘no justification’ in postponing the exams.
The agency added that it has released Admit cards for JEE (Main) and said that Admit cards for NEET (UG) shall be released shortly. NTA said that it has ensured that about 99% of candidates will be allotted the first choice of their Centre cities for both the examinations.
The agency has said that the number of examination centers have been increased from 570 to 660 for JEE (Main) and from 2,546 to 3,843 for NEET (UG) in order to meet the physical distancing norms. JEE (Main) is a Computer Based Test whereas NEET (UG) is a pen paper-based test.
In the case of JEE (Main), the number of shifts have been increased from 8 to 12 and the number of candidates per shift have been reduced from 1.32 lakh to 85,000.
The total number of candidates registered for JEE (Main) are 8.58 lakh and for NEET (UG) are 15.97 lakh.
The agency stated that in the case of JEE (Main) candidates will be seated in alternate seats and for NEET (UG), the number of candidates per room have been reduced from 24 to 12.
The entry and exit gates to exam centers have been staggered to ensure they follow the social distancing norms. Candidates have been given advisory guidelines of Do's and Don'ts for proper social distancing, the NTA added.
The NTA said that it assures all candidates a safe environment for tests and solicits cooperation from the candidates and their parents in following the standard operating procedures.