There is a marginal fall in the number of candidates taking the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) 2020 on Sunday in Kerala with 1,15,959 having registered for the exam, a drop of 1,755 when compared to 1,17,714 last year.
However, the number of exam centres has gone up from 218 to 322 in view of the COVID-19 protocol and to enable effective physical distancing. While as many as 24 candidates used to be accommodated in a hall earlier, it has been halved this year.
The test being conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for admission to MBBS, BDS, and other undergraduate medical courses will be held from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. The pen and paper-based test will have 180 multiple-choice questions – 45 questions each from physics and chemistry and 90 from biology. Entry will be permitted to the centres until 1.30 p.m.
Candidates will be permitted to carry masks, gloves, transparent water bottles, and hand sanitiser. While body pat frisking will not be done, frisking using metal detector will be mandatory at all centres.
As during previous years, candidates will be required to adhere to the dress code. Light clothes with long sleeves are not permitted. Those wearing customary dress should report at least an hour before the last reporting time, i.e. 12.30 p.m., to ensure adequate time for proper frisking. While slippers and sandals with low heels are permitted, shoes are not allowed.
To ensure staggered entry, candidates will be ushered in batches of 15 girls and 15 boys to two different registration rooms, where thermal scanning and document verification will be undertaken.
Candidates recording body temperatures of 37.4 degrees Celsius will be taken to isolation rooms where their documents will be verified. They will be allotted separate rooms to take the examination if their temperature does not fall to below 37.4 degrees Celsius.