Over 15 lakh candidates to appear for NEET today

New Delhi: Over 15 lakh candidates are expected to appear in medical entrance exam National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) on Sunday which will be conducted amid strict precautions in view of the COVID1-9 pandemic.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) is conducting the entrance examinations.

In Delhi, aspirants will be traveling to various centres to give their entrance test. Abdul, a candidate, said he will be traveling for three hours to reach his centre. "I will leave around 7 a.m. to reach for my 12 p.m. exam just to be on the safer side," he said.

Many other students said that their centres are far away from their homes. "My daughter gave JEE and is also giving NEET, but her centre is far away. I am also scared about the protocols. Thankfully at JEE, the centres were still better but kids have been exposed so much," Meenakshi, a resident of Pitampura said.

In order to maintain social distancing, the NTA has increased the number of exam centres from originally-planned 2,546 to 3,843, while the number of candidates per room has been reduced from earlier 24 to 12.

"For ensuring social distancing outside examination halls, a staggered entry and exit of candidates has been planned. Adequate arrangements have also been made outside examination centres to enable candidates stand with adequate social distancing while waiting," a senior NTA official said.

"Candidates have also been issued an advisory guiding them about the 'dos and don'ts' for proper social distancing. We have also written to states governments to extend support in local movement of the candidates so that they are able to reach their examination centres in time," the official added.

The crucial National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), which is a pen and paper based test unlike engineering entrance exam JEE, has already been deferred twice in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The exam was originally scheduled for May 3, but was pushed to July 26, and then to September 13.

Meanwhile, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation will begin its services from 6 am on Sunday. "This Sunday, 13th September, Metro operations will start at 6:00 AM on all sections. Starting next Sunday, 20th September, regular timings as per earlier time table with services starting at 8:00 AM on Phase 3 sections (on Sundays) will continue," DMRC tweeted.

While the governments of Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have assured students that they will provide them transportation, a group of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) alumni and students have launched a portal to provide transport facilities to exam centres for the candidates in need.

There has been a growing chorus for postponing the exams amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases.