NEET 2020: AIIMS experts draft SOP for exam day, question papers to come with masks

Gloves, masks, and sanitisers have become as important as the admit card on NEET 2020 exam day. A panel of experts at AIIMS have drafted SOP for NEET 2020, read more here.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has sought help of the experts from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for framing the guidelines for NEET 2020 exam day. NEET 2020 is the first major examination which will be carried out amidst the ongoing pandemic. With more than 16 lakh test-takers, NEET 2020 is the only medical entrance test in India for admission to the undergraduate courses, such as MBBS and BDS.

The examination was postponed by almost 4 months due to the scare of novel coronavirus in India. NEET exam is now scheduled for September 13. However, conducting an examination of this scale will require a lot of planning. The experts at AIIMS have recommended a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the conduction of NEET 2020. This template will likely be followed by NTA for NEET 2020 and other examinations organised by it.

What is the SOP recommended by the experts?

• The total number of exam centres has been increased to 4,500
• The exam centres for NEET 2020 will undergo deep sanitisation before and after the examination is held
• Sanitisers will be placed at several points
• The seating plan will allow two candidates to be at a distance of six feet or more
• Water-dispensers will not be functional to avoid crowding
• Candidates will have to carry their own water battle, transparent, to the NEET exam centre
• NEET admit card will have entry time-slots for different candidates
• Each slot will be allotted to only 30 candidates, avoiding crowding outside the exam centre
• Candidates have to wear masks and hand gloves to the exam centre
• They must also carry a transparent bottle of hand-sanitiser with them
• At the entry point, the security personnel will use metal detectors to check for devices
• A total of 9,000 hand-held metal detectors will be provided to the security personnel working at the centres
• The exam centres will have jammers to ensure that no candidate is using any Bluetooth/Wi-Fi device
• The exam centres and examination hall will be monitored with the help of CCTV cameras
• Before entering the examination hall, candidates will have to flash their NEET admit card to the concerned person
• They will have to take off their mask briefly for the verification of their identity
• All candidates who have above normal temperature will be seated in a separate room
• A surgical mask will come wrapped with the NEET question paper, which has to be used during the examination
• The washroom/water breaks will be strict
• A candidate will be escorted by the invigilator
• The washroom staff will ensure that the candidates wash their hands properly before leaving the facilities
• There will be two invigilators per 12 students, who will take handwriting samples of all students
• Candidates will have to dispose their masks and hand-gloves outside the exam centre, provisions for which shall be made by the authorities

These were some of the recommendations sent by the AIIMS panel to NTA. The authorities are still discussing whether or not COVID-positive candidates will be allowed to appear for NEET 2020. An official notification regarding the guidelines is expected to be released soon.

Read More:

• Dos and Don’ts for NEET
• NEET exam day guidelines and important instructions