COVID-19: Pending editions of JEE Main likely in Aug, NEET may be postponed to Sep

NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Education is contemplating conducting pending editions of engineering entrance exam JEE-Mains in July and August while the medical entrance exam NEET can be shifted to September, according to sources. However, a final decision in this regard is yet to be taken and the Ministry is in process of reviewing the COVID-19 situation across states and UTs.

"The pending editions of JEE-Mains are likely to be conducted either at the end of July or August with a fortnight's gap between the two tests. NEET is likely to be pushed to September," a source said. From the current academic session, JEE-Mains is being conducted four times a year to offer flexibility to students and a chance to improve their scores. The first phase in February was followed by the second phase in March, while the next phases were scheduled for April and May. But those were postponed after an exponential rise in the number of COVID-19 cases during the second wave of the pandemic in the country.

The JEE-Advanced exam, which is conducted for admission to the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology and the National Institutes of Technology, was also postponed. The exam was scheduled on July 3. While no further decision was taken on NEET-UG which is scheduled on August 1, the registration for the exam, which was supposed to commence from May 1, was kept in abeyance. The ministry is also yet to decide on the fate of the Central University Common Entrance Test (CUCET).

Earlier this month, the CBSE cancelled class 12 board exams in view of the pandemic and has announced a marks tabulation policy. Following the same route, the CISCE and several state boards also cancelled the same exams.

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