The Joint Entrance Examination (JEE)-Advanced for admission to 23 IITs across the country was postponed on Wednesday in view of the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak. The Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi (IIT Delhi), the organizing institute for the JEE-Advanced has postponed the examination that was scheduled to be held on May 17.


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Through JEE (Advanced), the 23 IITs all over the country offer admissions to the undergraduate courses leading to a Bachelor's, Integrated Master's or Bachelor's-Master's Dual Degree in Engineering, Science, or Architecture. While JEE-Mains is conducted for admission to engineering colleges across the country, it is considered as a qualifying exam for JEE-Advanced.


On March 27,  the Centre had postponed the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) UG and Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) (Main) entrance examinations till last week of May. Earlier, the exams were scheduled for May 3, 2020. The exact date will be announced later on after assessing the situation. 


"As of now, the examination is proposed to be held in the last week of May 2020. The exact date will be announced later on after assessing the situation. Accordingly, the Admit Cards for the Examination which were to be issued on March 27, 2020, will now be issued later on after assessing the situation after April 15, 2020, only," read a statement.


Taking to micro-blogging site Twitter, Union Cabinet Minister for Human Resource Development (HRD) Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank had said, "Since Parents and Students have to travel to different examination centres, to avoid any inconvenience to them, I have directed National Testing Agency @DG_NTA to postpone NEET (UG) 2020 and JEE(Main) till last week of May."


The statement had also said, "In view of the hardships faced by the parents and the students due to COVID-19 epidemic, the National Testing Agency has postponed the ensuing NEET (UG) May 2020 examination scheduled to be held on May 3, 2020. We are hopeful that we would get back to normal situation relatively soon; but for now, various concerned Ministries and Examination Boards are examining the scenario to evaluate the situation that may necessitate any change in the schedule."


"We understand that academic calendar and schedule is important but equally important is well being of every citizen including students. NTA would expect students and parents to not worry about the Examination. Moreover, parents are requested to help young students utilize this time for preparing for the Examination and focus on critical concepts in order to close learning gaps if any. NTA would keep students updated about the latest developments and would inform about changes with ample time," the statement had added.


The candidates and their parents have been advised to keep visiting ntaneet.nic.in and www.nta.ac.in for latest updates. They have also been informed individually through their registered mobile number/ email-id. The candidates can also contact at 8700028512, 8178359845, 9650173668,  9599676953, 8882356803 for any further clarification.