More than 15 lakh candidates are expected to appear in the NEET medical entrance exam on Sunday, which will take place amid strict precautions in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to officials with the National Testing Agency (NTA). ).
In order 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.
The crucial National Entry and Eligibility Test (NEET), which is a paper-and-pencil-based test unlike the JEE engineering entrance exam, has already been postponed twice in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. The exam was originally scheduled for May 3, but was postponed to July 26 and then to September 13.
A total of 15.97 lakh candidates have registered for the exam.
“To ensure social distancing outside of the exam rooms, a staggered entry and exit of candidates has been planned. Adequate arrangements have also been made outside the test centers to allow candidates to stand with adequate social distancing while they wait, ”said a senior NTA official.
“A notice has also been issued to candidates advising them on the ‘pros and cons’ of proper social distancing. We have also written to the state governments to extend support in the local movement of candidates so that they can arrive on time to their exam centers, ”added the official.
The testing agency has also changed centers for some candidates this week in accordance with social distancing rules and Covid restrictions. However, the city of the test center has not changed for any candidate. Make hand sanitizers available at the entrance of the exam center and inside the exam room at all times, replacing the process of verifying candidates’ admission cards with barcode scanners, increasing the number of test centers, alternate seating plans, fewer candidates per room, and staggered entry and exit are among the steps the NTA has taken.
“While all candidates will be required to come to the exam centers with masks and disinfectants, once they enter the center, they must use the masks provided by the examining authority. “Each candidate will be offered a three-layer mask at the time of registration and is expected to wear the same during the exam to avoid any form of unfair means at the time of the exam,” added the official.
While the governments of Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have assured students that they will provide them with transportation, a group of alumni and students from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) has launched a portal to provide transportation facilities to the test centers. for candidates who need it.
The Metro Railway in Kolkata plans to offer special services for NEET candidates on September 13 to help them get to their test centers.
There has been a growing chorus for postponing exams amid the growing number of Covid-19 cases. The Supreme Court had previously dismissed a petition for an examination postponement amid a surge in the number of Covid-19 cases, saying that a “precious year” of students cannot be wasted and that life must go on.
Several opposition leaders, including Congressional Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, his Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik, DMK President MK Stalin, and Delhi’s Chief Deputy Minister Manish Sisodia, had also demanded that this, as well as the JEE, be postponed.
With the JEE exams only a few days away, the issue had turned into a full-blown political battle with ministers from Rajasthan and Punjab (Congress), West Bengal (Trinamool Congress), Jharkhand (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha), Maharashtra (Party of the Nationalist Congress). and Shiv Sena) seeking the postponement of the examinations “in such a way as to achieve the dual objective of ensuring that the students’ academic year is not wasted and their health and safety is not compromised.”
They have filed a petition in the high court to review their 2020 JEE and NEET UG order during the novel coronavirus crises. However, the motive was dismissed by the Supreme Court.
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