In an interview on Thursday, NTA Director-General, Vineet Joshi said that they are “fully prepared” to conduct the engineering and medical entrances in a “safe and secure” manner. He emphasized that elaborate and detailed plans have been made to conduct JEE Main 2020 and NEET. 

Over 9.5 lakh students are to appear for JEE Main 2020 scheduled to be conducted from September 1 to September 6. JEE Main 2020 Admit Cards are already released. Students can download their @nta.ac.in or jeemain.nta.nic.in. After JEE, NTA also released the NEET admit card. 

To maintain social distancing there has been an increase in the number of exam centers. In a statement made by NTA, the number of JEE Main exam centers increased from 570 to 660 and for NEET from 2,546 to 3,843.

Also, the number of candidates, both city-wise and center-wise have come down. For JEE Main 2020 there are 120 candidates as compared to 234 last year and for NEET (UG) there are 416 as compared to 597 last year. 

In an interview with DD News, Mr. Joshi said that there would be a maximum of 15 candidates at the registration desk at the same time and the process from entry to exit would be contactless. NTA has made sure of a staggered entry for candidates avoiding any crowds. 

Mr. Joshi added, “We have ensured crowd management before and after the exam. For the candidates, we have allotted staggered reporting time. Say there are 150 candidates at a center, we have separated them into groups and they will report in a gap of 30 to 40 minutes. There will be queue managers at the entry and candidates will be made to stand at demarcated areas to ensure social distancing. At the outer cordon, there will be people to ensure social distancing. At the outer cordon, there will be people to ensure that accompanying guardians drop their wards and move on. They will not be allowed to park vehicles and stand at the entry. We have also written to the local authorities so that the local police can help us,”

Mr. Joshi added that further postponement of the exam would hamper the academic year. 

Odd-Even Rule would be followed when it comes to the seating arrangement. Since JEE Main is a computer-based test, NTA said that students would be made to sit on alternate systems. The first shift candidates would be made to sit on odd-numbered machines while the second shift students would be made to sit on even-numbered machines. This is to ensure that students do not have to use the same computer as used by the other student. 

For NEET 2020, a maximum of 12 candidates would be allowed in a room and would be made to sit alternatively. 

All the staff and other officials involved in the conduct of the exam have been training for the last 20 days on the implementation of the standard operating procedures and guidelines provided by the government and NTA in conducting the exam. 

In the interview, Mr. Joshi also stated that student’s admit card would serve as passes for traveling in containment zones. Further adding to this, the staff can use their appointment letter as passes. 

NTA Director also assured students that there would be strict adherence to the guidelines and the COVID-19 advisory provided. 

Read  COVID-19 Advisory for JEE Main 2020

Also Read  COVID-19 Advisory for NEET 2020

NTA is ready to conduct JEE Main 2020 at 615 centers across 234 cities in 12 sessions and NEET 2020 at 3,846 centers across 155 cities.