Lakhs of students set to write the JEE (Main) and NEET (UG) exams, to be conducted in September. (File)

New Delhi:

Students appearing for the JEE, NEET this year, amid the coronavirus pandemic, will not only have to compulsorily wear face mask and hand gloves, but also carry a personal bottle of water and hand sanitizer to the exam centre – the location to which will be shared through a link days earlier. Their admit card will have detailed instructions on social distancing.

The entry to the exam centre itself would be staggered and students will have to clear a thermal scan for gaining access. However, each exam centre will also have the provision of “isolation rooms” for those candidates whose body temperature is above 99.4 degrees.

While the NTA has made provision to accommodate the symptomatic candidates, it has sought a self-declaration that candidates “do not have any coronavirus-like symptoms or suffer from COVID-19 or have not been in touch with anybody who tested positive recently”.

It must be noted that the guidelines do not clarify if candidates from containment zones would be allowed to write the examination as they may be asymptomatic but would have come in contact with a Covid-positive person recently.

These are among the instructions that have been issued today by the National Testing Agency, or the NTA, indicating that the central government may go ahead with the plan to conduct the national entrance exams for the IITs, and medical courses despite the growing demand to postpone them in view of Covid restrictions and floods in many states.

The development comes days after the NTA issued admit cards for the two exams scheduled to be held in September.

According to the guidelines issued by the NTA to safely conduct the examinations, the reporting time will be staggered. “This is being done to ensure uniform distribution of candidates across rooms for entering an examination centre,” the advisory read.

Before entering the exam hall, each student would be required to wash their hands with soap and water. However, there will be no water dispenser to avoid spreading the contagion.

Candidates will be given a fresh three-ply face mask on entering the exam centre and asked to “throw the old ones”.

The JEE (Main) will be conducted for some 8.6 lakh students between September 1 and 6, while the NEET (UG) will be organised across urban centres for about 15 lakh students.