The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 18 in the country on Friday and the number of positive coronavirus cases climbed to 724, according to the health ministry.
New Delhi: The central Government on Friday said the JEE and NEET entrance exams have been postponed to the last of week of May keeping in mind the three-week national lockdown.
“Since parents and students have to travel to different examination centers, to avoid any inconvenience to them, I have directed the National Testing Agency to postpone Neet (UG) 2020 and JEE(Main) till last week of May,” said Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal in a tweet. While JEE was scheduled for April, NEET was set for May 3.
The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), whose marks are used for admission in colleges across the country, was scheduled for May 3.
The HRD Ministry’s National Testing Agency (NTA) postponed the exam in view of the three-week lockdown as well as pending board exams for a few subjects.
Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal said the decision has been taken to avoid any inconvenience to students and parents who have to travel to different centres across the country at a time when social distancing is a must for the utmost safety.
“In view of hardships faced by both parents and students in view of COVID-19 epidemic, the NEET exam scheduled on May 3 has been postponed,” NTA Director General Vineet Joshi said.
He said, “We are hopeful that we could get back to normal situation relatively soon but for now Various concerned ministries and examination boards are examining the scenario to evaluate situation that might necessitate any changes in schedule.”
The agency has conducted Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) and Graduate Pharmacy Aptitude Test (GPAT) for the current academic admission. As per its exam calendar registration process for Delhi University entrance test, All India AYUSH Post Graduate Entrance Test (AIAPGET) will begin in April.
“As of now, the examination is proposed to be held in last week of Ma. Exact dates will be announced later after assessing the situation,” Joshi said.
Meanwhile, Vidyamandir classes, which provides coaching for engineering and medical entrance exams, is conducting National Admission Test online on Sunday.
The admit card for NEET 2020 will not be released as scheduled due to coronavirus outbreak. The NEET admit card was scheduled to be released on Friday, March 27. According to information Bulletin, the result of the examination was to be declared on June 4.
“ I request all the students to utilize this time to study for these exams and stay safe,” Pokhriyal Tweeted.
The Joint Entrance Examination (Main) will also be rescheduled as the lockdown will continue till april 15.
There’s no update on the National Council for Hotel Management (NCHIM) JEE admission test as well. The application process for ICAR entrance exam and JNU entrance test will end on March 31 and the exams are scheduled in May and April respectively.
ALSO READ THESE POSTS:-
CBSE AND STATE BOARD DECISIONS REGARDING EXAMS AND RESULT FOR THIS ACADEMIC SESSION
The decision was taken after a meeting between senior officials of the ministries of health and HRD on Friday. With remaining CBSE, NIOS and CISE Board exams being postponed till after March 21, competitive exams to be conducted thereafter will also be affected.
