NEET, JEEs put off to September

New Delhi: The HRD ministry on Friday postponed entrance exams NEET and JEE to September due to spike in Covid-19 cases. “Keeping in mind the safety of students we postponed the exams. JEE-Main will be held between September 16, while JEE-advanced will be on September 27. NEET will be held on September 13,” said Union minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nihank’.

New Delhi, July 3: The HRD Ministry on Friday postponed crucial medical and engineering entrance exams NEET and JEE to September in view of the spike in Covid-19 cases.

The decision was taken following recommendations of a four-member committee set up to review the feasibility of conducting the exams in July.

“Keeping in mind the safety of students and to ensure quality education we have decided to postpone JEE and NEET examinations. JEE-Main examination will be held between September 1-6, while JEEadvanced exam will be held on September 27. NEET examination will be held on September 13,” said Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nihank.’

Following the announcement of a nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, the competitive exams for engineering and medical admissions were first postponed on May 5.

The medical entrance exam National Eligibility-cumEntrance Test (NEET) was scheduled for July 26, while the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE)-Mains for admission to engineering colleges was to be held from July 18-23.

JEE-Advanced, which is conducted for admission to Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), was earlier scheduled for August 23.

Parents and students have been signing online petitions and conducting Twitter campaigns, requesting the government to postpone the engineering and medical entrance exams as well.