In the end, 83% of those who applied wrote the JEE 2020 exam

The JEE Main 2020 examination, which was held between September 1 and 6, saw close to 83 percent of the 8,58,000 candidates who applied taking the examination. Sources told Moneycontrol that it was only on the first day (architecture/planning) that there were fewer candidates appearing for the tests.

“There seems to be a misconception that only half of the candidates have given the entrance examination. This is incorrect. Less than 20 percent of the candidates did not appear for the examination,” said an official.

On the first day (September 1), when the JEE Main 2020 was held for B.Arch/B.Planning (Bachelors of Architecture/Planning) only 55 percent of the candidates turned up. However, by the second and third day, the numbers rose to 80 percent.

Sources said that the trend continued for the next three days as well and by September 6, about 83 percent of the candidates had taken the exam. Another official added that this is similar to the turnout in previous years.

 Why is the JEE Main different this year?

There was a demand by a section of students as well as various State governments to postpone the JEE Main 2020 amidst the Coronavirus pandemic. The argument was that it would not be safe to conduct the examination given that the virus outbreak has worsened.

Concerns were also expressed over students’ ability to travel, especially those in containment zones. But, the Supreme Court had on August 17 dismissed pleas to direct the NTA to postpone the JEE Main and NEET due to the coronavirus pandemic.

JEE Main is the entrance examination for entry into undergraduate engineering programmes. Those who qualify in the JEE Main 2020 will be eligible to apply for JEE Advanced for entry into the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).

The National Testing Agency (NTA) had clarified on August 25 that the JEE Main 2020 examinations would be held as scheduled. The testing body had also said the number of examination centres for JEE Main had been increased to 660 from 570.  In addition, it had said that students could use their admit card as a pass to take public transport.

 Why did some students refrain from taking the test?

Some students Moneycontrol spoke to said that they did not take the JEE Main 2020 either due to transport costs or to avoid contracting the virus.

Manoj Singh*, a student from Bhopal, said that three of his family members were down with Coronavirus and had recovered just two weeks ago. He added that it was not safe for him to get exposed again.

“I will lose out but what if I caught the virus and spread it to my family again? Who would pay for the medical costs?” he added.

Another student, Bipin Chatterjee*, who was to travel home to Kolkata for the test, told Moneycontrol that he was unable to find transport.

“Flights were erratic and I was told that I would need to be in quarantine since my Mumbai building is in a containment zone. I wanted to change my centre a day before the exam but that wasn’t permitted,” he added.

Since the lockdown has continued across the country, students were required to travel almost 1,000-1,200 kilometres arranging their own transport. This additional cost dissuaded a few from appearing.

“Taking a bus would have been cheaper but transport has been restricted. I had to travel to Lucknow, which is 300 km away, for the test, from Mau. Transport turned out to be expensive and I wasn’t allowed to travel alone,” said Safeena Ahmad*.

The JEE Main 2020 results are likely to be declared by September 15. Of the 8,58,000 candidates only the top 2,50,000 will be eligible to take the JEE Advanced exam.

*Names changed to protect identity