NEW DELHI: Thousands of students appeared for the JEE (Main) at 18 exam centres here Tuesday amid stringent safety measures in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, after weeks of uncertainty over whether the engineering entrance test will be held and persistent demand from some quarters to postpone it.
Some of the students said they were initially apprehensive about taking the test amid the pandemic, but did not face any issues at the centres as all safety norms were properly followed.
Scenes outside the exam centres across the country as well as in the national capital reflected the ‘new normal’ effectuated by the Covid-19 pandemic: staggered entry and exit for candidates, sanitisers at the gates, distribution of masks, and students queuing up with safe social distance among them. There were 18 exam centres in Delhi and a total of 660 across the country, officials from the National Testing Agency (NTA) said.
The exam, which had been postponed twice in view of the Covid-19, is scheduled from September 1 to 6. Tuesday was the first day of the exam.Shivani, who took the computer-based exam at the Arwachin Bharti Bhawan Senior Secondary School in Vivek Vihar, said she travelled from Dwarka Mor to the centre without facing any difficulty.
‘Amid the ongoing protests to demand the postponement of the exam, I had thought the exam won’t happen. But I didn’t want it postponed as it would have led to more anxiety among students,” she said.
Requesting anonymity, another candidate at the centre said all Standard Operating Procedures were followed inside the examination centre and students were made to sit at appropriate safe distance.
Niharika, who had come from Mayur Vihar, said all exam materials were handed over to them after proper sanitisation.
With PTI inputs