The National Testing
Agency announced on August 22 that the entrance examinations for medical and
engineering undergraduate courses, the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test
(NEET) and the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), will be conducted as scheduled
in September. (JEE) Mains will be conducted from September 1 to 6 and NEET on September 13.

Since the
announcement, students and parents have expressed their concerns due to the
ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

While some Indian
students are thinking about giving the test, several candidates in Gulf
countries are of the opinion that travelling to India to write the entrance
tests are not only stressful but also impractical.

“What choice do I
have? It is impractical,” news agency PTI quoted Royston Mendonca, who is
based in Dubai, as saying.

Several Indian
students like her said the Supreme Court’s refusal to allow exam centres for
the NEET in Gulf countries has left them in the lurch. Many of these students have
their JEE Main exam in the Gulf and the NEET in India.

While exam centres
have been set up abroad for JEE Main, there is no such plan for NEET.

Reaching India in time
to be able to complete the mandatory quarantine period before the exam,
arranging a stay before taking a flight back home, additional expenses, the
risk of contracting COVID-19 and being quarantined again back home, are among
several concerns on the mind of the aspirants.

Mendonca said,
“Even if I take the next possible Vande Bharat flight, I will not be able
to finish my quarantine period by then. And how can one appear for such a
crucial exam amid this much stress.”

Shailaja Vishwanathan,
a Doha-based candidate, said, “I had contacted the Indian embassy here and
I have been told that though I had not applied earlier, I would be accommodated
in the next Vande Bharat flight. But it is too much of a hassle right before an
exam for which I have been preparing for two years. I wish I was able to take
the exam in Doha, but I don’t have much choice. I will go anyhow.”

Jonathan Vergis, who
resides in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has to write both these exams, the
JEE-Main in Dubai on September 3 and the NEET in India 10 days later.

“If I leave after this
exam (JEE Main), I will not be able to finish the quarantine period before
September 13, when the NEET exam is scheduled,” he said.

However, NTA officials
said the JEE exam centre in such cases can be shifted to India and the students
should reach out to the agency.

On Monday, the Supreme
Court declined to pass direction to the Central government to hold
NEET in Gulf countries. The court directed the government to allow students to
come through Vande Bharat Mission flights to write the exams.

The SC was hearing a
plea filed by parents of nearly 4,000 NEET candidates, who alternatively had
sought to postpone the examination until the coronavirus pandemic subsides.

The parents of these
candidates, who reside in Doha, Qatar, Oman and the UAE, had approached the
apex court challenging the High Court of Kerala order which had dismissed their
plea in June.

The NTA informed the
Supreme Court that it had duly consulted the MCI (Medical Council of India) on
the students’ demand for overseas test centers.

However, the MCI had
clarified that since the exam is conducted in pen and paper mode, it will not
be feasible to have a different pattern for Gulf countries or establish a
centre there amid the pandemic situation.