The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi announced on July 31 that the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Advanced will not be conducted in foreign examination centres this year in view of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The entrance exam for admission to IITs is being conducted by IIT Delhi this year.
The official statement read: “Due to the current restrictions imposed on foreign travel and visa issuance, it is decided not to conduct JEE Advanced 2020 in foreign centres.”
“All eligible candidates staying abroad may select their preferred choices from the list of exam cities in India for taking JEE Advanced 2020,” the statement added.
The JEE Advanced 2020 is scheduled to be held on September 27, 2020. Usually, the examination is conducted in the month of May or June, but it had to be postponed this year due to the coronavirus outbreak. To make up for the time lost, IITs will be reducing the number of counselling rounds. They also plan to release the JEE 2020 results within a few days after the exam is conducted.
Students have been demanding further postponement of both engineering and medical entrance exams on health and safety grounds. The authorities have not changed the JEE Advanced exam schedule yet. They have, however, decided to relax the eligibility criteria for the exams in view of the academic loss due to the pandemic outbreak and the alternative assessment schemes adopted by different schools since most final exams could not be conducted.
Under normal circumstances, a candidate is required to secure 75 percent marks in Class 12 board exams apart from clearing JEE Advanced to be eligible for admission to IITs. This year, students will only be required to secure qualifying marks in the entrance exam to be eligible for admission; marks secured in the board exams will not be considered.
Notably, JEE Main is the first step for entry into engineering programmes across institutes, including IITs. If a candidate qualifies in JEE Main, he/she can apply for JEE Advanced, which is an exam only for entry into IITs.
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