JEE Main to be held from September 1-6, NEET on September 13: HRD Minister

New Delhi: Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal on Friday announced the decision to postpone the JEE Main and NEET 2020 examinations. The announcement was made on the basis of the recommendation given by the panel of experts formed by him on Thursday.

The JEE Main examination will be held between September 1 to 6, JEE advanced exam will be held on September 27 and NEET examination will be held on September 13.

Keeping in mind the safety of students and to ensure quality education we have decided to postpone #JEE & #NEET examinations. JEE Main examination will be held between 1st-6th Sept, JEE advanced exam will be held on 27th Sept & NEET examination will be held on 13th Sept. pic.twitter.com/klTjtBxvuw

— Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (@DrRPNishank) July 3, 2020

HRD minister had sought a report from a panel of experts headed by the director general of National Testing Agency (NTA) Vineet Joshi on feasibility of conducting the exams by Friday.

JEE Main exam was scheduled to be held from July 18 to 23, while NEET 2020 was scheduled for July 26.

Large number of students who have applied JEE Main and NEET exams have been demanding its postponement in view of the rising number of Coronavirus cases in the country.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has created a challenge as far as conducting exams is concerned and in India, the scale is huge. Therefore, for the future, NTA is looking at building capacity for holding online exams, which candidates can take from their homes,” an official had earlier said. However, it would take time before NTA has the capacity to hold highly-competitive exams online, said the official.