NTA Postpones JEE Main Exam, New Dates To Be Announced On 31 March After Assessment Of Covid-19 Situation

Amid the Coronavirus outbreak, the examinations for Central Board of Second Education (CBSE), National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) and other university exams are rescheduled and postponed till 31 March, said Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) secretary Amit Khare, reports ANI.

Earlier on Wednesday (18 March), the MHRD had directed the CBSE, National Testing Agency (NTA) and all educational institutions across the country to postpone all exams including JEE Main till 31 March in view of the Covid-19 outbreak.

“The National Testing Agency has postponed the ensuing JEE (Main) April 2020 examinations scheduled on the 5th, 7th, 9th and 11th April 2020. The New dates of JEE (Main) examinations will be announced on the 31st March 2020,” NTA said in a statement on Wednesday.

Khare said that the new dates for Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main will also be announced on 31 March after assessment of the situation.

"We have decided that all examinations - CBSE, NIOS, and University exams are rescheduled and postponed till March 31. Similarly, the evaluation work is also postponed this March 31 because there are certain competitive exams like JEE Main where students have to travel to different centres... New date for JEE Main exam will be announced on 31st March, after assessing the situation," Khare was quoted in the report as saying.

He further said that the ministry has urged all the universities, schools to contact the children and keep them well informed of the developments to ensure their safety.

“We have also requested all of them to make maximum use of online courses so that the learning is not lost," he added.

A total of 169 positive cases, with 151 active cases, have been reported in India so far, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Three people, one each from Karnataka, Maharashtra and Delhi, have died due to the Covid-19 in India.