Document saying JEE Main in July is fake; no decision from NTA yet

NEW DELHI: Close on the heels of the extension of the lockdown to May 3, a fake document, supposedly a public notice from the National Testing Agency, or NTA, started doing the rounds.

It says that the JEE Main has been further postponed to the first week of July and the confirmed dates will be shared on the official website after consideration of the situation in the upcoming weeks. The notice further elaborates that admit cards will be issued after May 31. The notice is also badly formatted and missing a lot of elements that usually accompany an NTA notice. The director general of NTA, Vineet Joshi, confirmed to Careers360 that this notice, given below, is fake.

NTA has come up with a notice on its official website regarding false information and fake notices on JEE Main 2020. The agency has clearly stated that the postponement notice is a fake one and that there is no truth in it. It further advised students to not fall prey to such notices and endorsed checking the official website for authentic information. The notice also mentions that strict action would be taken under the prevalent provisions of the IT act and IPC against scrupulous people spreading these rumours. Check the NTA rejoinder here.

Become a norm

In a departure from what has become the norm on the past few occasions, the MHRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has also not posted about this ‘decision’ on social media Nor has the NTA issued any such public notice.

Such notices simply exploit the anxiety of students over delayed exams and admissions. Similar documents were circulated also about several state board and university examinations.

Students are advised to wait for the official confirmation. Considering that April 15 is the date when NTA is expected to announce further details on JEE Main and NEET admit cards, it would do well to wait these few hours to know more.

The other reasoning is that the lockdown has been extended till May 3 which leaves NTA with enough time to issue the admit cards and hold the exam in the last week if the situation improves.

A copy of the same is given below.

Update: This copy has been updated to include NTA's statement on the fake news.