Hindustan Times ST (Jaipur)

Many coaching students return to Kota

- Aabshar H Quazi aabshar.quazi@htlive.com

KOTA: Many students, who had gone home during the Covid-induced lockdown when coaching institutes remained shut, have returned to Kota to prepare for medical a nd e ngi neer i ng entrance tests.

The National Eligibilit­y cum Entrance Test (NEET) for admissions to undergradu­ate medical and dental courses and the Joint Entrance Examinatio­n (JEE) Mains for admissions to engineerin­g colleges are scheduled between July 18 and 26, though there could be a rethink after the cancellati­on of remaining CBSE Class 12 because of the Covid situation .

THOUGH A FINAL CALL WILL BE TAKEN ON THE TEST DATES, MANY NEET AND JEE ASPIRANTS HAVE RETURNED TO THEIR HOSTELS

Tens of thousands of students take the tests that the National Testing Agency conducts.

Though a final call will be taken on the test dates, many NEET and JEE aspirants have returned to their hostels and rented accommodat­ions in Kota, a coaching hub, to focus on their preparatio­ns.

Shrishti Gautam (18) of Ghaziabad (UP), a NEET aspirant who had gone home during the lockdown, said, “Ours is a joint family. I did not get the atmosphere for studies at home. My preparatio­n was affected severely. So I persuaded my parents to let me return to Kota.”

Shrishti is staying at a girls’ hostel in Landmark area of Kota city. “It seems we have to live with Covid-19. I cannot defer my studies because of the pandemic,” she said.

NEET aspirant Anamika Pandey (19) of Agartala (Tripura) said, “I decided to return to my hostel as I could not study back home. Here I follow a daily schedule for studies. This was not possible at home because of distractio­ns.”

Niharika Yadav (17) of Rajsamand (Rajasthan) said, “I returned to Kota 10 days ago. Now I can seriously prepare for NEET i n my hos t e l r o o m. Though coaching institutes are closed because of the pandemic,

Kota provides an environmen­t for studies.”

Naveen Ma h e s h w a r i , director, Allen Career Institute, said, “Many enrolled students of our institute have returned to prepare for their entrance examinatio­ns. Around 1,500 students did not go home during the lockdown to focus on their preparatio­ns. on the basis of feedback available with us, hundreds of students have returned to Kota.”

Nitin Vijay, director of Motion Education coaching institute, said, “Students attending online classes while staying at home were facing technical hurdles. That’s why they have returned to Kota to have seamless access to online coaching.”

Every year over 150,000 students from all over the country come to Kota to take coaching for NEET and JEE. This year coaching institutes remained shut in Kota after the Centre announced lockdown to fight the coronaviru­s disease.

 ??  ?? Anamika Pandey
HT
Anamika Pandey HT
 ??  ?? Shrishti Gautam
HT
Shrishti Gautam HT
 ??  ?? Niharika Yadav
HT
Niharika Yadav HT

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