Covid-19: NEET,JEE Main examinations postponed to September 13, says HRD Minister

Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nihank' on Friday announced the decision to postpone the JEE Main and NEET 2020 examinations to September.

The JEE examination will be held between September 1 to 6, JEE advanced exam will be held on September 27 and National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) examination will be held on September 13, Pokhriyal 'Nihank' said.

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A panel constituted by the HRD minister has recommended to postpone the medical entrance examination and engineering entrance examination in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Earlier, the JEE Main and NEET exams were scheduled to be held on July 18-23 and July 26, respectively.

The JEE Advanced exam was scheduled to be held on August 23.

According to HRD Ministry officials, the committee felt that delaying the exams was inevitable since many test centres were located in containment zones and safety of the students was top priority of the government.

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The medical entrance exam National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) was scheduled for July 26, while the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE)-Mains for admission to engineering colleges was to be held from July 18-23.

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The delay, however, is likely to impact the academic calendar.

According to sources, the counselling for the two crucial exams will begin in October and freshers may begin classes by November end or December first week. However, a definite plan has not been drawn yet.

(With inputs from PTI)