As part of the Unlock 2.0 guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, all educational institutions are to remain closed until July 31. Following the cancellation of the CBSE and ICSE exams last week, there is still a cloud of mystery around the JEE Main 2020 examination scheduled to be held from July 18 to July 23, and NEET UG scheduled for July 26. The Ministry of Human Resource Development and the National Testing Agency (NTA) are expected to issue an update on the status of the exam soon, as students wait with bated breath.
As the entrances are inching closer, students are hoping for a clearer picture. Mehul Mishra, a JEE aspirant from Ghaziabad, who has been prepping for the exam with the help of FIITJEE, said: "It should have been conducted a bit earlier, the cases are rising exponentially. This might pose a threat to the students. Currently, what I feel is it should be conducted as soon as possible because motivation levels have already been on a downward spiral. We have been preparing for the exam rigorously as you can never be sure when they will postpone again. FIITJEE has been really helpful throughout, they have been keeping our morals high, clearing our doubts through WhatsApp and conducting regular online classes."
A parent of another student named Ashwin Sharma, who attends FIITJEE's classes in Delhi agreed that the exams should take place as the students have been anxious with the constant modification of dates. "I personally feel that it should be stretched out to 10 days and not just five days like it is now for the JEE exams. Then a lesser number of students can take the exam on a single day, maintaining the social distancing norms at the examination centre. The centres also should be nearby for easy access to students. The exams should take place on the given dates and not be postponed any more," said Aashwin's mother.
Coaching institutes that prepare students for the JEE/NEET examinations are also in a fix as they do not know for sure if the dates will be modified again. "We still have no idea about the dates or if they will change again. We are continuously preparing our students at a regular pace with our crash courses. However, with the delay in dates students have now got more time to prepare and clear doubts regarding difficult topics. We have been conducting mock tests on a regular basis and will continue to focus on that. Students might lose time if they wait for the dates. They should take advantage of this period to practice more and clear their doubts," a spokesperson from Aakash Institute told us.
The wait of students over the final dates for NEET and JEE 2020 continues as the authorities are yet to announce any final schedule. After the cancellation of Class 10 and 12 CBSE exams, the MHRD authorities have urged the NTA to re-look into the academic calendar for JEE and NEET, as per several reports.
Numerous parents have also written to the Ministry of Health to request the postponement of exams further which are scheduled for July. According to news reports, in the letters that the parents wrote, it is reportedly suggested that exposing students is a direct threat to the wellbeing of the family.
