Safety checks in place for NEET
Bhubaneswar: Massive preparations have been put in place to ensure a smooth and safe National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (undergraduate) across the state in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“All arrangements have been made for NEET exam as per the guidelines of National Testing Agency (NTA) by the respective collectors and municipal commissioners. Students are advised to appear for the examination without any fear of Covid-19,” said Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra, additional chief secretary, health and family welfare department.
For safety of students and others, who are part of the examination process, students will be allowed to enter the centres in a staggering manner with proper checks of all safety aspects. For this purpose, the reporting time has been set at 11 am. It will take over two hours to conduct necessary checks, including that of safety protocol. At 2 pm the examination will start and will end at 5 pm.
“As many as 37,459 candidates are expected to appear for the exam in 83 centres. In capital city, 600 students will sit for the examination. In pre-Covid days, we used to have 35 students in one room. But now this has been reduced to around one-third, which means 12 students will be accommodated in a room to maintain social distancing norms,” said NEET state coordinator Polly Patnaik. “Those who are found to be running a temperature (suspected cases) will be made to sit in an isolation room and give the test,” she added.
In JEE (Main), a total of 38,236 students had appeared for the exam between September 1 and 6 in 26 centres across seven cities.
In Bhubaneswar, BMC has decided to close retail and wholesale markets in Unit-I to minimize rush near the examination centre close to it. The representatives of the market associations have been asked to ensure that all shops remain close for Sunday.
Gayadhar Swain, president, Rajadhani Haata Byabasayi Sangha, said they have announced closure of the market through public address system. “We have received the letter from the BMC and no shopkeeper will be allowed to open his/her counter for the day,” Swain said.
EoM