JEE-Mains, for admission to engineering colleges, is scheduled from September 1 to 6.
The Joint Entrance Exam (JEE)-Mains for admission to engineering colleges is ongoing as per schedule. JEE-Mains, the first large-scale exam being conducted amid the COVID-19 pandemic, is scheduled from September 1 to 6.
The exam has been conducted amid stringent precautions and social distancing measures in view of the COVID-19 pandemic despite calls from some quarters for postponement of the crucial exam which had already been deferred twice.
Increasing the number of examination centres, alternate seating plans, fewer candidates per room and staggered entry and exit are among the steps the National Testing Agency (NTA) has taken for safely conducting the crucial exam.
Over 9 lakh candidates have registered for the exam for admission to engineering courses in IITs, NITs and Centrally Funded Technical Institutions (CFTIs). While the governments of Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have assured students that they will provide transportation to candidates, a group of IIT alumni and students have also launched a portal to provide transport facilities to exam centres for the candidates in need.
The Supreme Court had earlier dismissed a plea seeking postponement of the two exams amid a spurt in the number of COVID-19 cases, saying a "precious year" of students cannot be wasted and life has to go on. Based on the results of the JEE-Mains Paper 1 and Paper 2, the top 2.45 lakh candidates will be eligible to appear for the JEE-Advanced exam, which is a one-stop exam to get admission into the 23 premier Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). JEE-Advanced is scheduled to take place on September 27.