Of the more than 1.5 million candidates who had registered for the National Entrance and Eligibility Test (NEET), 85-90% of students sat for the exam on Sunday.
The Union education minister, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, revealing the figures, also thanked the states, as many of them had organized transportation for the candidates taking into account the difficulties due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“NTA informed me that around 85-90% of the students appeared on the #NEET exam today. I sincerely thank all the senior ministers and @DG_NTA for the proper arrangements made to facilitate student participation. #NEET’s participation reflects the tenacity and courage of young #AtmaNirbharBharat, ”Pokhriyal said in a tweet.
NTA informed me that about 85-90% of the students appeared in #NEET Test today. I sincerely thank all the senior ministers and @DG_NTA for appropriate arrangements made to facilitate student participation. #NEET Participation reflects the tenacity and courage of young people. #AtmaNirbharBharat .
– Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (@DrRPNishank) September 13, 2020
He thanked all senior ministers and the Director General of the National Testing Agency (NTA), Vineet Joshi, for making arrangements to facilitate student participation.
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“The participation of the NEETs reflects the tenacity and courage of young people,” said the Union’s education minister.
NEET’s attendance figures are higher than JEE’s (Main) attendance figure of around 74%. NTA officials have attributed this to the fact that JEE (Main) is held twice a year.
Many students who had already taken the exam in January may have decided to skip the exam in September due to concerns related to Covid-19.
Taking the NEET exam was more of a challenge than the JEE (Main) engineering entrance exam because the number of candidates is much higher. More than 15 lakh students have registered for the NEET exam that will take place in one day. The JEE was held from 1 to 6 September and the number of candidates was smaller, more than 8 lakh.
To maintain social distancing, the NTA has increased the number of test centers from the originally planned 2,546 to 3,843, while the number of candidates per room has been reduced from the first 24 to 12.
National Entry and Eligibility Test (NEET), which is a paper-and-pencil-based test as opposed to JEE, which is a computer-based test. The NTA has made elaborate arrangements to ensure social distancing during the exam.
The Center’s decision to take the NEET JEE exam had drawn much criticism from various opposition leaders who questioned the wisdom of the measure as the Covid-19 pandemic continued to rage. However, the Union Ministry of Education has emphasized that not taking the test could lead to a zero year, which would not be in the interest of students.
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