Covid-19 infection fear had a profound impact on the JEE (Main) Assam exam, with less than 50 per cent attendance recorded in the six state-wide exam centres on Tuesday.
"The trend across Assam was not very encouraging today (Tuesday). At the Guwahati Center, where the examination was carried out in digital mode, barely 200 out of approximately 600 registered candidates appeared" said an official at National Testing Agency ( NTA), which is responsible for conducting JEE (Main) and NEET (UG) in the country.
Officials involved in the examination procedure blamed the poor attendance for the alarming situation caused by the pandemic, as transport no longer poses a major obstacle to public bus examinations and shared taxis playing on roads with a limited number of passengers.
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"Not only in the centre of Guwahati, but poor attendance was also seen in other centres. On average, attendance was only around 40%, "the NTA official added.
Apart from the Guwahati centre, the number of JEE (Main) centres in other districts are — Jorhat (2), Dibrugarh (1), Tezpur (1) and Silchar (1). While many students in the state oppose the conduct of the JEE (Main) and NEET (UG), the NSUI and the Youth Congress took to the streets to demonstrate against the government's move to conduct the entrance tests.
The NEET (UG) to be held on 13 September (Sunday) is the biggest concern for the NTA authorities in Assam. The Assam Government and the NTA officials held a meeting here on Monday to find a way to conduct a medical entrance test with ease. The number of NEET (UG) applicants in the state is more than twice the number shown in JEE (Main).
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In Assam, the number of candidates registered for JEE (Main) is 12,803 (6 centres). But the number of applicants for NEET (UG) is 30,311 (81 centres). Since many of the candidates are registered to appear for both exams, a section of the students may not appear for JEE (Main) because a large section of them gives more priority to NEET (UG), some of the tutors feel.
With the number of registered candidates to appear in the B Arch. And B Planning on Tuesday was relatively much lower than BTech / BE candidates appearing in JEE (Main) from Wednesday to Sunday, and the NTA's challenge will be immense in the next few days to ensure Covid-19 protocols and social distancing at test centers.
"I've been preparing really hard for JEE (Main) for the last three to four months. I have to be in the test tomorrow. But my parents, who are diabetic, are my biggest concern. I'm going to have to be extra careful so that I don't become a carrier of the virus, "said Pradipta Ranjan Mallik, who will appear for JEE (Main) in Guwahati on Wednesday.
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