JEE Main (Feb) 2022 likely to be postponed amid assembly polls, surging covid cases: Experts

Amid the rising number of Covid-19 cases, many competitive exams, including the Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY), have been postponed.

Partha Halder, the head of FIIT JEE Punjabi Bagh in Delhi, said the National Testing Agency (NTA) has yet to release the official notice and students are not sure how the four tests will be planned.

“The provision of four attempts was only introduced last year with the first session scheduled for February and then all remaining sessions were rescheduled in the wake of Covid. This year, we’re not even sure if NTA plans to conduct the technical admission test in February or not,” Halder said.

“The third wave of Covid does not present a favorable environment to continue with the exams,” he added.

Academics Director at Vidyamandir Classes, Saurabh Kumar, also hinted that JEE Main 2022 would not launch in February.

“It will most likely take place in March, largely as a result of the deteriorating Covid situation and the parliamentary elections. Most exams scheduled for March 10 are expected to be postponed. By the way, the NTA usually releases the notification with enough time for candidates to apply, and the agency has not opened the registration window yet,” Kumar said.

The biharengineering.in tried to contact NTA Director General Vineet Joshi and Senior Director Sadhana Parashar, but they declined to comment on JEE Main 2022.

At the same time, students are concerned about appearing for the board exam and technical entrance exams in the same month amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Yash Raj, 19, from Patna in Bihar said moving JEE Main to March is likely to increase the pressure on aspirants as they will also have to pass the board exams.

“Last year, as a one-time measure, the central government waived the eligibility criteria for 75 percentage points in grade 12. Due to the unfamiliar pattern, many students have failed the first-semester exams well and will now focus on the first-semester exams. the board of the second semester. Aspirants have no information about eligibility criteria, the application process and exam dates, adding fuel to the fire of fear,” Raj said.

However, Kumar from Vidyamandir Classes said that the board exams this year will not be very difficult for students due to the divided syllabus.

“The board exams are also expected to be postponed further to April. Term-1 has already been completed with 50 percent of the syllabus, and term-2 will only contain questions from the remaining half of the syllabus. The pattern is also in line with the competitive exams, which only have objective questions,” he said.

However, some academics said they hoped the situation would be under control by February.

“The exam will most likely be held in the second or third week of February, and the number of active cases may decrease,” Ramana Rao, director of NIT Warangal, told biharengineering.in. “The rest is up to the committee of experts to make a decision,” he added.