Nearly 90 percent of the candidates appeared on the NEET medical entrance exam conducted at more than 3,800 centers across the country on Sunday amid strict precautions in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. The National Income and Eligibility Test (NEET) began at 2 pm, but entry to the centers began at 11 am. The students were assigned different spaces for staggered movements to ensure social distancing.
Up to 15.97 lakh of candidates had signed up for NEET, which was previously postponed twice in light of the pandemic. Based on a random sampling, the National Testing Agency (NTA) said that attendance at the exam was between 85 and 90 percent. However, official attendance figures were not yet available. Attendance in 2019 was 92.9 percent. Candidates who missed exams after testing positive for Covid-19 will have another opportunity to take the exam, the date of which will be announced later.
Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ wished the candidates who stood for the exam luck and assured that arrangements had been made for their safety. “The NTA informed me that about 85-90 percent of the students appeared on the NEET exam. I sincerely thank all the senior ministers and NTA for the proper arrangements made to facilitate student participation. NEET participation reflects the tenacity and courage of young people, “he tweeted.
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
Starting this year, MBBS course admissions at the 13th Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Jawaharlal Institute for Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry will also be done through NEET following amendment in the National Medical Commission Act, 2019 approved by Parliament last year. Congressional Leader Rahul Gandhi, who has been demanding that the test be postponed following an increase in coronavirus cases, wished the students while expressing sympathy for those who were unable to take it due to the COVID pandemic and flooding. -19.
“Best wishes to the students taking the NEET exam and my condolences to those who were unable to take it due to the Covid pandemic and flooding. I wish Modi ji was as concerned about the JEE-NEET applicants and students as for his crony capitalist friends, “he said on Twitter. The test was offered in 11 languages: English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Marathi, Hate, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu this year. According to the initial report, more than 77% of applicants took the test in English, about 12% in Hindi, and 11% in other languages.
As of Saturday at 5pm, more than 15 lakh of the 15.97 lakh of registered candidates downloaded their admission cards. Several state governments announced free transportation and accommodation, including West Bengal, which offered a special metro service to candidates.
The exam was postponed twice due to the pandemic and the government decided to go ahead, despite opposition from a section, to mitigate any further academic losses. The National Testing Agency (NTA) has established strict standard operating procedures (SOPs) in light of the pandemic, including measures such as reducing the number of candidates per room from the first 24 to 12.
The NTA had also increased the number of centers from 2,546 in 2019 to 3,862 this year to ensure crowd management and staggered entry and exit protocols. Unlike the Engineering Entrance (JEE), NEET-UG, the medical admission test, is a paper and pencil exam that is taken once a year. Consequently, the NTA has changed centers for some candidates this week in compliance with social distancing rules and COVID restrictions.
However, the city of the test center has not changed for any candidate. The centers that had more than 900 candidates are distributed in two centers. In many places, NTA also arranged buses and private vehicles to transfer candidates who arrived earlier to their assigned centers instead of the changed one. While all candidates were asked to come to the exam centers with masks and disinfectants, once they entered the center, they were asked to wear the three-layer masks provided by the examining authority.
The NEET-UG was originally scheduled for May 3, but was postponed to July 26 and then scheduled for September 13.
The girl Odisha dies by suicide
An 18-year-old aspiring doctor died by suicide in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district, apparently because she was anxious about the result of the National Entry and Eligibility Test (NEET) conducted on Sunday, police said. Her parents found her hanging at their residence here Saturday night. When she was taken to a hospital, doctors pronounced her dead, said the inspector in charge of the Baripada Town police station, B Senapati.
An alleged suicide note recovered from the home indicated that the girl, identified as Upasana Sahu, said she was under mental stress and was unsure of eliminating NEET. Sahu was receiving training for the exam in Kota, Rajasthan. She returned home in May after the Covid-19 crisis began, the police officer said.
Protests in Tamil Nadu
The National Income and Eligibility Test (NEET) was carried out at more than 200 centers in Tamil Nadu as sporadic protests against the test were organized following the alleged suicides of three would-be doctors.
The protests, seeking the elimination of the national test, were organized by left-wing student groups Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, Dravidian fringe parties in places like Madurai, Theni, Kumbakonam, Pudukottai, Rajapalaya and Karur, police said. In some places, children lit candles, paying tribute to the three aspiring doctors who died by suicide on Saturday in different parts of the state.
The protesters raised brief slogans and put up banners alleging that the NEETs “ended” the dreams of young men and women to persecute MBBS. The police dispersed the protesters and the efforts of some male agitators to march towards the examination centers were thwarted.
(With PTI inputs)
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