The Supreme Court, earlier this week, allowed the National Testing Agency (NTA) to conduct JEE Mains and NEET exam amidst the pandemic. The SC in its order stated, "Life has to go on" despite Covid.
But, certain questions about the entry to the examination center, conduct of exam, have been coming up on the mind of aspirants. NTA on Thursday, finalized safety protocols, which include contact-less frisking, staggered time-slots for reporting, and contact-less verification of documents like admit cards for nearly 25 lakh candidates appearing for engineering and medical admission tests- JEE (Main) and NEET between September 1-13.
Candidates will be required to carry a self-declaration regarding their Covid-free health status on the day of the test and those with the body temperature higher than the recommended will be allowed to take the test in the isolated rooms.
According to the SOPs finalized by NTA, three-tier safety measures are being put in place- pre-examination, the conduct of exam, and post-exam phases. As part of pre-exam measures, all centers have been directed to keep gloves, masks, hand sanitizers, sponges/cloth, disinfectant liquid with 1% sodium hypochlorite, disinfectant backpack spray machines for sanitizing floors and walls, thermo guns and individual water bottles for staff and candidates.
All floors, walls, and gates of the exam center will be sanitized with disinfectants before the start of the examination and those on duty will wear masks and gloves after staff verification. At the entry, the body temperature of the candidates will be recorded and if it is found to be more than 99.4 degrees Fahrenheit, the candidate will be taken to an isolation room. The process of frisking and document verification for such candidates will be done after 15-20 minutes. By this time, if the temperature doesn't decrease, they will be allowed to take the exam alone. However, those who will project the normal body temperature i.e. below 99.4 degrees Fahrenheit will be moved for frisking.
Over 9,000 hand-held metal detectors will check for listening devices. Bluetooth and wifi presence will be checked and there will be jammers and CCTVs.
Candidates will be allowed in batches of 15 girls and 15 boys in two different registration rooms. Students will need to carry face mask, gloves, a personal transparent water bottle, a small hand sanitizer, and documents like admit card and identity card.
For document verification, a table of approximately 3 feet width will be kept and the candidate will display the documents for exam functionary to view without touching. Also, they will be asked to briefly remove the mask to allow the security staff to ensure that it is not an impersonation.
For the computer-based JEE (main) "Odd seat number will be allocated in shift 1 and shift 3, and even seat numbers in shift 2 and shift 4," which will result in 50% utilization of venue capacity. Also, there will be barcode readers at the entry point t to scan the admit card to verify the candidate details without physically touching his documents.
Also Read: SC dismisses plea to defer NEET and JEE Main 2020 says,"Life has to go on"
Guidelines for inside the NEET examination hall:
* Deep sanitization of each exam center before and after the exam.
* Sanitizers will be placed at several points.
* The seating plan will ensure social distancing.
* There will be videography/CCTV live streaming and two invigilators per 12 applicants
* Attendance and handwriting samples will be taken at the seat.
* Each question paper will also come with a fresh surgical mask for the candidate to use while writing the exam.
* There will also be stricter washroom and drinking water management.
* Students will be asked to bring their own (transparent) water bottles and an invigilator will accompany a candidate to the washroom
* Washroom staff will insist on hand washing before exiting the toilet.
* All exam staff will come with masks and gloves and everyone will get food and water from home.
* No disposable cutlery will be permitted and refreshments will have to be taken a designated place outside of rooms.
NEET 2020 is scheduled to be conducted on September 13 for admission to 82,926 MBBS, 26,949 BDS, 52,720 AYUSH, and 525 BVSc & AH offered in colleges of India. The admit card for NEET will be released by the authority 15 days before the exam.