NEST 2020 Exam Analysis and Student Reaction

Check out the NEST 2020 exam analysis and students reaction on appearing for the paper amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The National Entrance Screening Test (NEST) 2020 was successfully conducted on September 29, 2020, in two shifts (morning and evening) all over India. Thousands of students had applied for NEST and aim to clear the national-level entrance exam, which is conducted by the National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Bhubaneswar and the University of Mumbai – Department of Atomic Energy Centre for Excellence in Basic Sciences (UM-DAE-CEBS), Mumbai. NEST 2020 was conducted across 91 cities in India. On clearing NEST, candidates can get admission to five-year integrated MSc courses offered at NISER and UM-DAE-CEBS.

The main talking point about this year’s NEST was appearing for the entrance exam amid the COVID-19 pandemic. As the COVID-19 cases in India are alarmingly rising, students raised their concern about appearing for an entrance exam and were unsure about their safety. However, students who appeared for the 2020 NEST, have stated that strict social distancing rules were followed everywhere in the exam centres, the rooms in the centre were sanitized and there were hand sanitizers at every essential area.

The students were required to reach the allotted exam centre one hour before the entrance exam was scheduled to be conducted. Entry to the premises was given after the candidate showed their admit card, showed their government ID and were frisked through a non-touch metal detector and their temperatures were checked. 

NEST 2020 Student Reaction

Shiksha interacted students who had appeared for NEST 2020 in New Delhi. In order to maintain social distancing, students were only able to give their opinion on the exam paper. We had asked students their view on this year’s NEST paper, how did they find the difficulty level of the question paper and their opinion on appearing for the NEST 2020 exam amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Harshit: Hello my name is Harshit and stay in Saket, New Delhi. I am appearing for the NEST 2020 exam for MSc in Chemical Sciences. The paper was tough as the questions asked took time to answer as well. But I finished the paper half an hour before the paper could end. The entrance exam should have happened earlier like around July/August but luckily it’s finally happened now. There was social distancing and the officials at the centre ensured that everyone followed it.

Shilpa: Hello, my name is Shilpa and I stay in Delhi and I have come to appear for NEST. I applied for MSc in Environmental Sciences and I think the paper was challenging but good to give. Questions were asked on modern topics. I have been studying for NEST since the lockdown started and have been waiting for the main day to arrive. I thought 10 times before coming to the exam centre as I was scared and my family members also told me not to appear for the paper because of the pandemic. But I had to come and give the paper because I also need to start creating my future.

Ajay: Hello my name is Ajay and I gave the MSc Chemical Science paper. The paper was fine to give. I think the difficulty level was moderate. Not too easy or too difficult. From the general section, questions were based on modern topics and current affairs. I live alone in Delhi so I had no problem in appearing for the paper, otherwise, my family wouldn’t have allowed me to give the paper. There was social distancing and hand sanitizers were all around, which was a good sign, plus we all had on masks.

Ashwin: Hello my name is Ashwin. I am from Chennai but I live in Delhi. I appeared for the MSc Chemical Science paper and I thought the paper was okay. It took time to answer the questions as calculations were required in Maths, but I finished the question paper on time. Luckily the metros have started working as it is more convenient to travel, but maintaining social distancing is the point. The faculties here made people go in lines to their classroom while maintaining six feet and I felt secure. All the rooms were sanitized which was good. I’m happy with the paper and hope to ace it.

NEST 2020 Exam Highlights

The NEST 2020 paper was conducted in online mode i.e. Computer Based Test (CBT), the exam format was in Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs). The exam duration was 3 hours 30 minutes.

NEST 2020 Exam Analysis

The NEST exam did not have any major changes as the previous years and this year also, the questions asked were from Class 11 and Class 12 Science books and NCERT books. The exam format was Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) and students had to select the correct answer. The exam duration was 3 Hours 30 minutes. The marks of the best three subjects are taken into consideration. A total of 70 questions are asked. The sectional weightage is as follows:

NEST Exam Pattern and Marking Scheme

The NEST 2020 exam pattern was as such that the exam was conducted in online mode i.e. Computer Based Test (CBT). The exam duration was 3 Hours 30 minutes and the exam medium was in English. Through NEST, candidates can get admission to five-year integrated MSc courses offered at NISER and UM-DAE-CEBS. The marking scheme was as such that Section 1 – General section, had no negative marking, while the rest of the sections did have negative marking. A total of 70 questions were asked in the entrance exam. Here is the marking scheme of the sections which are as follows:

What’s Next?

The National Entrance Screening Test (NEST) has finally been conducted and now the results of NEST 2020 will be released online on October 10, 2020. The NEST officials might release the NEST answer keys within the coming week. The results will be announced in the form of merit lists. The result will have the candidate’s score and their qualifying status. The aspirant will have to log in to download their scorecard. Candidates who make the final merit list, will be invited to complete the counselling session to complete the admission process.

Read More: 

• How to Check NEST 2020 Results?
• NEST 2020 Counselling Session