The Joint Entrance Examination (Main) for admission to top engineering colleges across the country was conducted in the Capital on Tuesday, adhering to strict protocols put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
From staggered entry and exit to sanitising computers between shifts, the examination originally scheduled in April was conducted after being deferred twice.
Students at various exam centres said they were happy with the arrangements made by the National Testing Agency (NTA) to ensure a level of hygiene at the centres and were relieved that the examination was finally over. The only grievance shared by a few students was that they had been allotted examination centres far away from their place of residence and with limited public transport options available, they had a hard time reaching the centres.
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Smooth process
Archit Karan, after exiting the examination centre said, “I was a little nervous ahead of the examination due to the number of safety protocols but it was a smooth process. We were given fresh masks, made to sanitise our hands and our temperature was also checked. There was no crowding at any time.”
The NTA had informed that the examination will be conducted in two shifts a day between September 1 and September 6 and to ensure safety of students, the seating area would be thoroughly sanitised along with the monitor, keyboard, mouse, webcam, desk and the chair. It added that a gap between two seats will be maintained and students will be given staggered reporting times to avoid crowding.
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Long commute
Gyana Lal, a parent outside a centre in Vivek Vihar said that his only problem with the organisation was that the exam centres had been allotted far away from their homes. “We live in West Delhi and the examination centre was allotted in East Delhi. With the Metro still closed, it is tough to commute such long distances.”
He added that he was happy that the government decided to conduct the examination as the students were coming under a lot of pressure due to the uncertainty and fear of losing an academic year. “The conduct of the examination became politicised, causing unnecessary mental pressure on the minds of the students,” Mr. Lal said.
Other parents waiting outside the centre were also happy that the exams were being conducted as they had waited enough.
“COVID-19 is not going away any time soon. We are happy with the arrangements made at the centre and thankful that it is over,” said Harleen Kaur a parent.
Another candidate, Sayan Gutpta said that the examination process went off glitch-free and he was free to concentrate on cracking the examination instead of being worried about contracting the virus.
Another student, Stuti Mehra said that all the fears of giving the exam that were in her mind vanished as soon as she entered the centre and hoped that there would be no spread of the virus so that students do not have to suffer a zero year.