Over 80 % appear for JEE (Main) on Wednesday

03/09/2020

NEW DELHI, SEPT 2: Around 80 to 85 % of the candidates took the JEE exam in the morning shift on Wednesday as they braved odds due to the restrictions imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic while also following strict protocols on the second day of the test which is being held over a period of six days.The attendance figures available for the first shift - 84.09 % - indicate that the number of candidates taking the test had increased from the first day when an estimated 60 % candidates sat for the exam.“Overall attendance in the first shift was 84.09 %. It is estimated that the second shift also had 80 to 85 % of candidates,” said a person aware of the developments. He also said that the National Testing Agency (NTA) is collating the overall data.On the first day of the exam, an estimated 60 % of the students had taken the test for architecture and planning courses.On Wednesday aspirants who want to take up B Tech or BE courses in the country’s leading colleges sat for the test.The NTA, however, did not release any official figures.There also have been reports of candidates facing difficulties in reaching the test venues or other problems. There are also safety concerns and the absence of a sizeable number of candidates being attributed to it.According to the person cited above, there has been a slight dip in the number of candidates as in previous years the attendance could touch around 90 %. For architecture courses, the percentage of those appearing for the test is expected to be 80.There has been much debate on the Centre’s decision to go ahead and conduct the JEE (Main) exam from September 1 to 6 and the NEET exam on September 13. Several states had opposed the decision while opposition leaders have also attacked the government accusing it of being insensitive to students’ safety.
The government has emphasized that not holding the exam would result in a zero or missed year which was not in students’ interest.Around 8.58 lakh candidates had registered for the JEE (Main) exam.The exam is being held across the country in two shifts and measures like staggered entry and exit for candidates, sanitisers at the gate, distribution of masks were in place to keep the pandemic at bay.NTA officials kept an eye on the proceedings through cameras set up in each venue as thousands of candidates took the test.The NTA has also kept isolation rooms in case there is even a slight doubt that a candidate may have come in touch with someone infected.
The exam is being held in two sittings, from 9 am to 12 noon and 3 pm to 6 pm.

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