The National Testing Agency announced that the JEE (Main) will be held from September 1 to 6 and NEET (UG) on September 13 after the Supreme Court dismissed a petition seeking the postponement of the NEET and JEE.
A total of 8.58 lakh candidates had registered for the JEE-Mains exam for admission to engineering courses in IITs, NITs and Centrally Funded Technical Institutions (CFTIs) while only 74 per cent of them had appeared for the exam.
The last date to apply for the medical entrance exam is December 31.
Various state governments had announced free transportation and accommodation, including West Bengal that ran special metro service for candidates.
A three-judge bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra said career of students 'cannot be put under jeopardy for long'. 'Life has to go on. Life has to move ahead. Precious year of students cannot be wasted,' the bench, also comprising Justices B R Gavai and Krishna Murari, said during the hearing conducted through video conferencing while paving the way for commencement of the exams as scheduled.
'Applications seeking permission to file review petitions are allowed. We have carefully gone through the review petitions and the connected papers. We find no merit in the review petitions and the same are accordingly dismissed,' the bench said in its order.
While the NEET is scheduled to be held on September 13, engineering entrance exam JEE Main has been planned from September 1-6. Around 9.53 lakh candidates have registered for JEE-Mains and 15.97 lakh students have registered for NEET.
Candidates appearing for the exam in Kolkata were seen standing in queues while abiding by the social distancing norms.
The National Testing Agency said it has planned several steps to conduct the papers safely which include increasing the number of examination centers, alternate seating plan, fewer candidates per room and staggered entry and exit.
In order to maintain social distancing, the NTA has increased the number of exam centres from originally-planned 2,546 to 3,843, while the number of candidates per room has been reduced from earlier 24 to 12.
In order to maintain social distancing, the NTA has increased the number of centres from 2,546 to 3,843 for the NEET while the number of candidates per room has been reduced from earlier 24 to 12.
'Initially I was fearing that I may come in contact with the virus but when I reached the centre I gained confidence'
Banerjee urged the Centre to rethink about those who could not manage to appear for the crucial test.
Using the hashtag, SATYAGRAHagainstExamInCovid, many students also took to Twitter to appeal to the government to heed to their demands.
She claimed states were not consulted about it, a charge dismissed by the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the examination.
Reaching India in time to be able to complete the mandatory quarantine period before the exam, arranging a stay before taking a flight back home, additional expenses, the risk of contracting COVID-19 and being quarantined again back home, are among several concerns on the mind of the aspirants.
While online coaching has become a big hit during the lockdown, the path ahead is not easy, reports Rupesh Dutta.
Student bodies like the Left-affiliated All India Students' Association and the Congress-affiliated National Students' Union of India have been raising the issue and have demanded the postponement of the two exams.
The review plea has been filed by ministers from West Bengal (Moloy Ghatak), Jharkhand (Rameshwar Oraon), Rajasthan (Raghu Sharma), Chhattisgarh (Amarjeet Bhagat), Punjab (B S Sidhu) and Maharashtra (Uday Ravindra Sawant).
Noting that over 17 lakh out of nearly 25 lakh candidates have already downloaded admit cards for the medical and engineering entrance exams, Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' said his ministry has been receiving e-mails from students and parents that these exams should not be further postponed.
The issue, which has been a matter of intense public discourse for past few months, has evoked contrasting views with many backing the holding of the tests fearing that it may lead to a zero academic year for students, and the Opposition and activists demanding their postponement in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new National Education Policy will be tabled before the Union Cabinet by the end of this month.
The first attempt of JEE Main 2019 will be conducted from January 6 to 20, 2019.
The reforms proposed for the monster examinations, JEE and NEET, which take several students' lives every year don't go far enough.
The students can appear both the times in NEET and the best of the two scores would be taken in account for admission, the minister said. NEET is conducted for admissions to medical institutions across the country.
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