January 2021 JEE Mains could be delayed due to Covid situation, but no plans to cancel

Engineering aspirants’ concerns have been growing because there has been no official word on the next round of JEE Mains, which is conducted twice a year.

File image of aspirants entering an exam centre for the JEE-Mains in Kolkata in September 2020 | ANI

New Delhi: The Joint Entrance Exam (Mains) in January 2021 could be delayed if the Covid-19 situation across the country worsens, ThePrint has learnt. Officials in the National Testing Agency (NTA) said they want to keep up with the schedule and hold the exams in January, but are not certain if that will be the case.

No official notification has been released so far on the date of the JEE Mains exam, and students have expressed apprehension about whether it will be postponed or cancelled. However, sources in the NTA and the Ministry of Education told ThePrint that though the exam will not be cancelled, it could be delayed because of the pandemic.

JEE (Mains), the entrance exam for engineering colleges across India, is held twice a year — in January and April.

An official in NTA, which conducts the exam, said: “We want to conduct the exam in January itself, but we cannot guarantee at this point that we will be able to do that. It will all depend on the Covid-19 situation in the country.

“It will also depend upon the board exam schedule. If the board exams are delayed because of the Covid situation getting worse, JEE Mains will also have to be delayed a little. There are definitely no plans to cancel.”

A ministry source who is privy to the developments confirmed: “NTA is working on the schedule for JEE Mains’ January date, and an announcement is likely to be made soon. It is possible that the exam is a little delayed because of the ongoing pandemic but there is no plan to cancel the January exam as of now.”

ThePrint emailed the Ministry of Education for an official comment on this issue, but received no response till the time of publication of this report.

Worried students

For the January 2020 JEE Mains, the application process had begun in September 2019. However, this year, since the April exam was delayed until September due to the pandemic, engineering aspirants are getting anxious about the next exam in January.

Atman Shah, an aspirant from Gujarat, said: “There is no word from NTA about JEE Mains January and this has started to create panic among students. We just want to know whether the exam will be held or not or if it will be delayed.”

Reema Ahluwalia from Delhi added: “We have been discussing in our coaching groups and other circles whether the January exam will take place this year or not. No one seems to have any official word on this.”