JEE Main 2020 April/September attempt begins from September 1JEE Main 2020 Exam HIGHLIGHTS: After being postponed twice, the Joint Entrance Examination -JEE Main is being held today. Visuals from all across India suggest that students have reached exam halls, however, today is the BArch exam and a vast majority of students will appear for exams from tomorrow onwards when BTech entrance exams will take place.
In a major announcement today, just half-an-hour before the exam began, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court said that the students residing in flood-affected areas in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra can approach the National Testing Agency (NTA), if they were unable to reach the exam centre or reached late. The court also asked NTA to check the veracity of the claims and decide their representation within 15 days.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the exam is being conducted amid special arrangement, from no shoes with thick soles to mandatory masks at exam hall – several arrangements have been made by the NTA. Over 10 lakh masks, 10 lakh pairs of gloves, 1,300 infrared thermometer guns, 6,600 litres of hand sanitiser and an equal amount of disinfectant liquid, 6,600 sponges, 3,300 spray bottles and 3,300 cleaning staff have been arranged at an additional cost of almost Rs 13 crore. The exam will be conducted at 660 centres across the country, which was increased from 570.
The exams after being postponed twice are being conducted. (Representational image)
Candidates appearing for JEE Main West Bengal had a difficult time reaching their test centres on Tuesday morning owing to heavy rain and lack of transport. The government had asked all state transport utilities to commence bus services from 5 am in view of the exam, but several candidates in North 24 Parganas, Berhampur, Malda and Siliguri claimed that they had to wait for hours, braving downpour, to get a bus to reach their test centres.
The level of difficultly was easy as compared to the January session of JEE Main. Paper-2 as per feedback from students was easy. In the mathematics section had lengthy numerical based questions as compared to the January session of the same paper as questions involved more calculations, claim students. All chapters covered in calculus and coordinate geometry.
Personal masks were not allowed. Every student was given a fresh surgical mask at entry. Every student was made to go through a sanitizing station were they had to sanitize themselves through a foot press lever. Students reported that entry was stopped after 8:30 am. Students were not allowed to carry anything inside the examination hall except a pencil box for drawing, admit card and aadhar card. Transparent water Bottles were allowed.
In its letter, Bawankar highlighted the problems being faced by students appearing for JEE-Main examination and residing in flood-hit areas of Nagpur, Amravati, Akola, Chandrapur, Gondiaand Gadchiroli districts, as reported by PTI. Due to floods, students from these areas will find it difficult to appear for the JEE-Main examination, he said. A division bench of Justices R K Deshpande and Pushpa Ganediwala asked the respondents, the Maharashtra government, the Centre and the National Testing Agency, to consider postponing the examination for students residing in flood-affected areas.
"The situation is grim in several districts due to flood. Students should not suffer for no fault on their part," the bench said. The court said any aggrieved student can file an application to the NTA via their centre coordinator. "The National Testing Agency shall then decide on the application after consulting with the district collector concerned within a period of 15 days, the court ordered read as reported by the PTI. Earlier, the high court on Monday took cognisance of a letter written to it by Nitesh Bawankar, a resident of Bhandara district, raising concern over how students will reach the exam centres to appear for the JEE amid the flood situation.
The test will be held in two shifts, of three hours each, every day till September 6. The first shift exam is being conducted and will conclude at 12.30 pm. The second shift will start at 3 pm instead of 2 pm as sanitization drive will be held in the meantime at exam halls, as per the NTA. At the entry of the registration room their body temperature is recorded through the thermal gun. After due verification, invigilator checks seat allocation chart and direct them to their examination room as per roll number.
Since JEE gives percentile score, not just one but many can score a 100 percentile. In JEE Main 2019, a total of 24 candidates have secured a perfect 100 percentile score out of over 11.4 lakh candidates who appeared in both sessions combined.
The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Tuesday refused to postpone JEE Main examination for students residing in flood-affected areas in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. However, it said that students residing in flood-hit areas can approach the National Testing Agency (NTA), if they were unable to reach the exam centre or reached late. The court asked NTA to check the veracity of the claims and decide their representation within 15 days.
JEE and NEET aspirants will be allowed to travel by special suburban services in Mumbai. The Admit Card of candidates will be considered as the authority to enter suburban stations with companions including parents or guardians. They, however, will have to purchase travel tickets.
Several experts had also informed that with a higher delay and more practice, students have better chances of getting a good rank now. Since the competition is relatively high, the cut-off can also increase. However, there are students who have appeared for JEE Main in January and are now preparing for Advanced as they believe there would not be enough time left for it after Main. Students from disadvantaged areas or backgrounds believe that the online preparation would make it difficult for them to catch up as they lack proper resources.
Ramesh Batlish, an expert from FIITJEE said, "students should first scroll through the questions to ensure all questions with options are appearing on the computer screen and then start with easy questions and from the subject. Attempting the easier ones first and then trying to attempt the slightly difficult ones or those that require a lot of calculation. Students need to keep a check on their time while attempting the paper. Also, one should attempt all the numerical questions as there is no negative marking."
NTA has increased the number of exam centres from 570 to 660, it has also made arrangements to ensure fewer students sit in a given room. Further, students will be sitting at a farther distance. The frisking and entry rules have also been changed. Staff members will not touch any candidates while frisking. Further, a metal detector will be used too but it will be used from a safe distance, as per rules.
The NTA has a strict anti-cheating mechanism too. With CCTVs in place, NTA also monitors every exam centre and exam hall separately. Candidates are not allowed to take any belonging inside the exam hall. Further, s strict norm regarding attire also needs to be followed. As per the latest rules, "Shoes/footwear with thick soles and garments with large buttons are not permitted"
-- Amit Card along with self-declaration(undertaking) downloaded from the NTA website and printed on A4 size paper and duly filled in.
-- A simple transparent Ball Point Pen
-- Additional photograph, to be pasted on attendance sheet
-- Personal hand sanitizer (50 ml)
-- Personal transparent water bottle