NTA to review JEE Jan cycle, NEET 2021 after schools reopen

NTA to review JEE Jan cycle, NEET 2021 after schools reopen

Manash.Gohain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: 09.07.2020

As schools continue to remain shut and entrance examinations for admission to engineering and medical courses have been repeatedly postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the National Testing Agency has decided to take a review of the January-cycle of JEE (Main) after the schools reopen.

The JEE (main) was converted to ‘twice a year’ affair in 2019 – January and April cycles. The computer-based competitive exam for April 2020 had to be postponed twice due to the Covid-19 outbreak and is now slated to be held in September. In view of the delay, NTA plans to review the January 2021 exam.

A senior official in the HRD ministry said, “NTA will take a call depending on the prevailing situation after the schools reopen. The agency will also have to take into consideration Board exams, specially of CBSE and whether the 2021 Board exams can be conducted in February.”

The official said any further postponement of reopening of schools and other school exams will impact the schedule of JEE (Main) as well as NEET-UG of 2021.

Sources in CBSE said it is too early to predict.

The other exams likely to be impacted are national level entrance exams such as Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) and Graduate Pharmacy Aptitude Test (GPAT), which are conducted around the last week of January besides UGC-NET of December, 2020.

According to National Testing Agency sources, postponement of JEE (Main) and NEET-UG to September will have a cascading effect and push the JNU and DU entrance exams to October.