Thousands of students in the city and elsewhere in the district appeared for the Andhra Pradesh Engineering Agriculture and Medical Common Entrance Test (A.P. EAMCET-2020) which began across the State on Thursday.
The exam was held amidst unprecedented safety measures taken in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nine centres were allotted for the conduct of the entrance test in Visakhapatnam district. The exam was held from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The engineering entrance exam is being held from September 17 to 23. About 1.85 lakh students from the State are appearing for the exam. Around 17,500 candidates from the district are expected to write the computer-based engineering entrance exam.
Meanwhile, over 87,000 candidates from the State will appear for the agriculture and medical examinations scheduled to be held from September 23 to 25.
Candidates reached their examination centres two hours before the examination time to avoid last-minute chaos. Hand sanitiser was provided at the gate for the candidates. Officials drew circles at the examination centre to ensure physical distancing between the candidates, while checking their temperature with thermal scanners. Though APSRTC officials arranged special buses from all parts of the district, a large number of parents preferred to personally drop their children instead of opting for public transport in view of the COVID-19 scare. Many candidates wore gloves and carried pocket hand sanitisers and water bottles.
‘Arrangements satisfactory’
Many were worried about appearing for the exam at a time when the COVID-19 spread was at its peak in the district.
“Initially, I was a bit tensed, but settled down after seeing the arrangements. The measures taken by authorities were satisfactory. Everyone wore masks and gloves. Seating was also arranged in such a way so as to ensure appropriate physical distancing,” said Ch. Santosh, who appeared for the examination at a college in Sheela Nagar.
“I was very worried about appearing for the exam given the rate at which new COVID-19 cases are being reported every day in the district. However, the arrangements put in place by authorities were quite good and I was able to write the exam in a relieved manner,” said V. Anusha, a resident of Seethammadhara.