Amid protests and opposition from students across the country, NTA's Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) Main kickstarted on Tuesday. Day 1 saw candidates appear for the BArch and B Planning papers at various centres in the city.
Outside the centers, as per the guidelines of the National Testing Agency, students queued up for temperature checks hours before the scheduled time for the examination. Even though the morning exam started at 9 am, the reporting times started off at 7 am. Students were provided separate arrival time slots as per their JEE Main admit cards to prevent crowding at the exam centres.
While most students and guardians that we spoke to seemed surprised and satisfied with the conduct of the exam where social distancing was in place and seating plans were adjusted to suit the guidelines at most centres, videos and images of mismanagement of crowds during the morning session cropped up on social media.
Parents and guardians of JEE aspirants complained that there was no arrangement made for them outside the Noma Convention Center, Nacharam that led to crowding. Parents also pointed out that those who had cars, sat inside waiting for three hours, but those without stood in scorching heat and masks drenched in sweat.
Reports also suggested that no social distancing was followed by students while exiting the exam centre.
However, at other centers like iON Digital Zone, Old Alwal, most candidates arrived with guardians, who were then not allowed to wait outside for the duration of the examination. A JEE aspirant, Ashmit Debroy noted that all safety measures were in place when he arrived at the center, where he was asked to dispose of his mask and use the one provided to them. Gloves and face shield were optional, he said. "We weren't expecting the arrangements to be so smooth. Even inside the exam hall, in a row of eight systems, only two candidates were seated. The exit process was also completed with physical distancing in place", added Ashmit.
Students also noted that since JEE Main Paper 2 had fewer candidates, there was less of a crowd on Tuesday, but since JEE Paper 1 exams for the BTech and BE courses that begin today, with candidates much larger in number, the real issues might crop up. JEE Main Paper 1 for BEE and BTech courses will be held in two sessions each day from September 2 to September 6.
While the NTA had not released any state wise data on the number of candidates that appeared for the exam on the first day, in Telangana alone, 67,319 students have registered for JEE Mains to be held at 27 centres till September 6.
Students from various remote locations are supposed to take the upcoming exams. Due to absence of public transport, candidates say reaching their examination center would be a challenge. To aid this, a team of volunteers who were earlier providing help in lockdown, called Sai Task Force, have diverted their resources in providing free transportation and even accommodation to students travelling from far off districts in the state.
Rahul Shiva, member of the core team informed that they have recieved several calls from candidates appearing for both JEE Mains and NEET, to ferry them to centers and back. He said that they has bookings for transportation from districts like Sanga Reddy, Khammam, Warangal, among other places for the test days.
