JEE Advanced 2020 exam not to be conducted at exam centres outside of India due to COVID-19 pandemic

The Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Advanced, the examination for admission to Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), will not be conducted in any of the foreign exam centres this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The JEE (Advanced) 2020 will be held on 27 September. This year the exam will be conducted by IIT Delhi.

The decision of not holding the entrance exam in foreign centres has been taken due to the prevailing restrictions imposed on foreign travel and visa issuance, an official statement said.

“All eligible candidates staying abroad may select their preferred choices from the list of exam cities in India for taking JEE (Advanced) 2020,” it added.

Every year, some examination centres are set-up outside India for foreign applicants and NRIs.

The top 2-2.5 lakh rank holders in India in the JEE Main examination are eligible to take the JEE Advanced.

The examination is conducted in the May or June, but this year is has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Students have been demanding further postponement of the entrance examination but the authorities have not yet announced anything regarding the change of schedule, reported Money Control .

Meanwhile, the eligibility criteria for the exams have been relaxed this year . Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank last month announced that due to the partial cancellation of Class 12 exams by several boards, JAB has decided to relax the eligibility criterion for JEE (Advanced) 2020 qualified candidates this time.

Initially candidates have to secure either minimum score of 75 percent marks in Class 12 board exams or rank among the top 20 percentile in their qualifying examinations.

Now, those who have passed the Class 12 exams will be eligible for admissions to the IITs irrespective of the score that they have obtained.