JEE (Main) exams conducted nationwide amid strict protocols and anxiety

The Joint Entrance Examination (JEE)-Main is being conducted throughout India for undergraduate engineering aspirants from 1st September 2020. Earlier, there were protests owing to safety concerns for students amid the rise in number of cases of coronavirus in the country.

In the nationwide entrance exam, almost 8.58 lakh students will be appearing for the test at 660 centres across the country between September 1 and 6.

The National testing Agency (NTA) had earlier announced that beside JEE-Main, the agency would also conduct the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for aspiring undergraduate medical and dental students on September 13.

The JEE-Main examinations is for admission to prestigious engineering colleges like national Institute of technology (NIT). Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and other central technical institutes of the country.

The NTA and centre’s decision to conduct JEE-Main and NEET examinations has sparked row in the country where opposition parties have questioned the move amid rising number of coronavirus cases in India.

However, the central government decided to go ahead with the examinations in spite of several concerns being raised by the candidates and opposition parties.

Education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank on Monday appealed to all states to ensure candidates could appear for JEE-Main smoothly.

“After my interactions with the chief ministers and administrative level officials of almost all the states, I can assure all the candidates and their parents/guardians that they will be provided all possible assistance. My best wishes for the bright future of all of you!” tweeted Pokhriyal on 31st August.