NEET (UG) – 2020 will be conducted on Sunday, 13th September, 2020 from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm. The exam will be conducted at 155 cities across India in offline mode for almost 17 lakh candidates (for admission to 82,926 MBBS, 26,949 BDS, 52,720 AYUSH and 525 BVSc & AH seats). In order to responsibly conduct an exam of such large scale amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the NTA (National Testing Agency) has formulated an advisory which contains guidelines to be followed on the exam day at each examination centre. The NEET advisory, also known as the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) has been devised by the topmost medical experts at AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Science) to ensure safety for NEET aspirants and staff.
These guidelines are categorized into:
- Controls/Measures before the exam
- Controls/Measures at examination centres during the exam
- Controls/Measures at examination centres after the exam
To read about the COVID-19 Instructions for NEET 2020 in detail, read further.
Important Update:
- NEET 2020 admit card is expected to be released on August 29,2020. All applicants who have successfully registered for NEET 2020 must visit the official website ntaneet.nic.in to download their admit cards.
- To read the ‘NTA NEET 2020 COVID-19 Advisory in detail’, CLICK HERE
COVID-19 Instructions for NEET 2020 – Controls/Measures Before the Exam
To ensure utmost safety of the candidates and staff, NTA has issued various guidelines related to:
- Things permitted inside the exam hall
- Social distancing norms
- Changes in admit card
- Things to be made available at the exam venue
- Crowd management outside the examination centres
- Managing candidates after entry into the centre
Let’s look into each of these points in detail.
Read More : JEE Main COVID-19 Safety Tips and Guidelines by NTA – Pre & Post Exam
COVID-19 Instructions for NEET 2020 – What can candidates carry inside the exam hall?
Now that the NEET exam is approaching, the students are ought to be aware about the exam day instructions, guidelines, what to carry and reporting time. Let’s first delve into the most basic question on students mind – What items are permitted in the NEET examination hall?
Candidates are allowed to carry only the following items inside the examination hall –
- Mask on face
- Gloves on hand
- Personal transparent water bottle
- Personal small hand sanitizer (50 ml)
- Exam related documents as instructed (Admit Card, Photo ID card, etc)
Note: No other item, other than the ones stated above are permitted inside the exam room. The NEET admit card will also clearly mention the things that the candidates are allowed to carry and not carry inside the exam hall.
COVID-19 Instructions for NEET 2020 – What changes have been made in NEET 2020 admit card?
The NEET 2020 admit card is expected to be released on or after August 29, 2020. Candidates can check the following details on their respective admit cards –
- Definite instructions to maintain social distancing and other instructions related to COVID-19
- Staggered Time Slots for the candidates reporting at the examination centres – to be printed as ‘Slot’. For example – 11.00 A.M. -11.30 A.M.
- List of items allowed in exam rooms
- A hyperlink to location of the centre so that candidates are able to verify the location of the centre in advance by clicking on the link (when candidate clicks the Centre details)
- Guideline for availing scribe – In case of PwD candidate availing a scribe, both the candidate and scribe must wear the masks
COVID-19 Instructions for NEET 2020 – What Social Distancing Norms will the Staff Follow?
The Centre Superintendent will conduct training for NEET invigilators and staff. Following points will be focused on during the training:
- Social distancing norms
- Guidelines for conduct of NEET UG 2020
- Standard Operating Procedures for implementing safety precautions and maintaining a certain standard of hygiene
Note: The exam staff will be able to perform their duty, provided they have attended the orientation.
COVID-19 Instructions for NEET 2020 – What all things will be available at the NEET 2020 exam centre?
All NEET test centres will have the following additional inventory available:
- Gloves and Masks for all staff on examination duty
- Gloves and Masks for candidates (in case they do not come with their own)
- Hand Sanitizer at the venue entry and inside the examination centres
- Spray bottles, Sponges/cloth for disinfecting desk/table, door handles, etc.
- Disinfectant liquid with 1% sodium hypochlorite for spraying in the examination centres
- Disinfectant backpack spray machines for spraying floors, walls, etc
- Additional cleaning material for washrooms to ensure complete hygiene
- Liquid handwash/soap in washrooms for washing hands
- Thermo guns for temperature check of candidates and all staff on duty
- Additional notice boards
- Individual water bottles for staff on duty and for candidates in case any candidate misses to bring (arrangement for approximately 20% of candidates allocated)
- Rope to make rope lines and material to make floor marks to manage queues outside the entrance gate
COVID-19 Instructions for NEET 2020 – How will the crowd be managed outside the examination hall?
NTA has issued strict guidelines for the staff on crowd management outside the examination centres. These are:
- Advisory notice boards to be installed to caution the candidates about social distancing precautions. These boards will be positioned at suitable locations within and near the examination centres
- Queue manager/ropes to be placed in a way so as to funnel candidates within the roped area. This will ensure that the candidates stand in separate lines of (up to 20 girls, up to 20 boys) at any point of time.
- Loud hailer to be used to call candidates as per their time slots
COVID-19 Instructions for NEET 2020 – How will candidates be managed after entry into the exam centre?
To avoid crowding at the examination centre entrance, candidates will be given staggered time slots for reporting. This will help in ensuring a limited and uniform distribution of candidates across various rooms during entry at the exam centres. Candidates will be informed about the process of staggered entry through admit card and SMS.
COVID-19 Instructions for NEET 2020 – Controls/Measures at Examination Centres During the Exam
The following guidelines will be followed during the examination –
- Candidate Authentication
- Videography/CCTV live streaming will be conducted in each room
- Manual attendance and handwriting sample at the candidate seat
- Manual attendance with signature (while wearing gloves) will be taken. No thumb impression will be taken
- 50% of the Invigilators will be assigned to work inside the rooms, and 50% will monitor the entry outside the gate and registration room until the last candidate has taken their place inside the examination room/hall
- The practice of physical movement of Invigilators inside the room would be minimized
- Masks and gloves will be mandatory for Invigilators
- In case Invigilator is required to help a candidate to resolve any issue, they will need to sanitize their hands before and afterwards (without removing gloves)
- Washroom will be kept clean and sanitized at all times. Housekeeping staff manning the washrooms must insist that the candidates wash their hands before leaving the washroom.
- Candidate must take permission from Invigilator before going to the washroom
- Drinking water management – The practice of water dispenser will be discontinued
- Personal water bottles will be permitted at the table and should be brought by the candidate
COVID-19 Instructions for NEET 2020 – Controls/Measures at examination centres after the exam
The following guidelines will be followed after the examination is conducted –
- On completion of the exam, the candidates would be permitted to move out in an orderly manner – One candidate at a time.
- The gloves and masks should be disposed in a pedal push covered bin at the examination centre and outside the examination room/hall only
- Required distance will be maintained without crowding anywhere
- Volunteers will be present along the exit path to ensure orderly movement of candidates
