75% of candidates in Bengal could not write JEE on Sept 1 due to COVID situation: Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that 75 per cent of the state's candidates could not take JEE on Tuesday while only half of them managed to turn up in exam centres in other states due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic situation.

She said that her government had made all the arrangements for the students, but only 1,167 wrote the test though 4,652 candidates were scheduled to appear for it on Tuesday, the first day of the examination.

"The students are in great trouble. They were not able to attempt the JEE examinations. In other states, more than 50 per cent of the students were not able to appear for it because of the pandemic situation," Banerjee told reporters.

The chief minister had earlier requested the Centre not to hold the JEE amid the pandemic situation.