Kerala entrance examination KEAM gets underway; over 1 lakh students set to appear

Sizeable deployments of police personnel and volunteers have been made to enforce social distancing norms and prevent crowding outside the venues.

Elaborate arrangements were made to ensure that the COVID-19 protocols were adhered to.

The State’s entrance examination for admissions to engineering and pharmacy courses, KEAM 2020 , got underway across 343 centres in the State and in Mumbai, New Delhi and Dubai.

The conduct of the examination has brought an end to the uncertainty induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. It had been initially scheduled to be held on April 20 and 21, but was postponed in view of the adverse situation that prevailed in various parts of the State.

After several rounds of discussion, the government

decided to go ahead with the examination despite reports suggesting that the Covid-19 siutation in the State was set to worsen in the coming months.

While over 1,10,000 have registered for the examination, it remained to be seen how many appeared for the two papers, both of which are being held today. Over 500 students have registered to take part in the examination in the Dubai centre.

The first paper (Physics and Chemistry) commenced at 10 a.m. and will conclude at 12.30 p.m., while the second paper (Mathematics) with a similar duration will begin at 2.30 p.m. The candidates will be permitted to leave the examination centres only after the conclusion of both papers.

Elaborate arrangements were made to ensure that the COVID-19 protocols were adhered to. Sizeable deployments of police personnel and the government’s Samoohika Sannadha Sena volunteers have been made to enforce social distancing norms and prevent crowding outside the venues.

The mask-clad candidates were subjected to screening using thermal scanners. Besides pens, pencils, clip boards, they were also advised to bring their own food and water bottles, considering the closure of restaurants in various places including Thiruvananthapuram where a triple lockdown is in place and the hazards associated with crowding in such outlets.

In a last-minute move, the Commissioner for Entrance Examinations (CEE) arranged a separate examination centre in St. Antony’s Higher Secondary School, Valiyathura, for the benefit of the 60-odd candidates who hail from the critical containment zones, comprising the Poonthura, Manikyavilakom and Puthenpally wards, in the State capital.

Moreover, higher education aspirants who come from other containment zones and have been undergoing quarantine have been allotted separate rooms within examination centres.

Probably for the first time in the State, a government-run hospital has also become an examination centre. Two COVID-19-affected students have appeared for the examination in the Government Medical College Hospital, Alappuzha, following a decision taken by the government to go beyond its brief and make the necessary arrangements for the duo.