Congested queues appear to be a thing of the past, that many seemed to have forgotten. While students hopped from square to square, marked a few feet away, officials checked their temperatures and recorded it. They were also asked to sanitise their hands periodically. These students were all set to write the much-awaited JEE Mains in Kochi's TCS iON centre.

Donning their masks, parents waited outside the campus. Most of them sat inside or stood next to their vehicles. Others stood isolated in corners, distancing themselves from the others. "My son was tired of the wait. This exam had to happen soon," says Icy, a parent. Her son is one of the thousands who are writing the exam today. "We believe that the government will ensure proper norms. To be honest, I was only scared of him losing an academic year," she says, breathing a sigh of relief. Another parent Sathish too echoed the same opinion. "My daughter is writing the BArch exam today and the BTech entrance tomorrow. The indefinite postponement was certainly a worry for us. I'm happy that the exam finally began," he says.

After much distress, outcries and failed pleas seeking a postponement, the National Testing Agency, on Tuesday began the IIT Joint Entrance Examination Mains. While the entrance for BArch admissions was held today, BTech entrance examinations will commence from Wednesday. Considering the pandemic and a continuous surge in the number of new cases, the NTA was to follow a series of SOPs including sanitisation of halls, maintaining social distancing and temperature checks.