Day 1 of JEE Main: Exam centres allotted too far, say candidates in Chandigarh

Even as the first day of Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) Main rolled off smoothly at five venues in Chandigarh and Mohali on Tuesday, candidates complained of the examination centres being too far from their homes.

This, despite the Centre claiming that it had created extra centres for conducting the examination.

The entrance test was held for candidates seeking admission in bachelor of planning and architecture programmes, while BTech aspirants will sit for JEE Main from Wednesday onwards.

Barjinder Singh from Gurdaspur, Punjab, wrote his exam in the second shift, however, he had arrived as early as 10am and waited outside his centre in Industrial Area Phase 1 till it was time for the exam. “I had to travel over four hours from my hometown to reach the exam centre in Chandigarh, so I thought it prudent to come early, even if required waiting for long hours. I didn’t want to risk getting late for my exam, as the centre was allotted quite far,” he said.

Avneet Kaur, a candidate who appeared in the first shift of the exam, said she drove all the way up to Chandigarh from Rai Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh to take the test. “I had opted for a centre near my residence, but it was allotted in Chandigarh.” She had reached here with her brother and father and on Monday so she could appear for her exam on Tuesday morning.

The central government had said they would make arrangements for students to reach the centres for their JEE exams, however, no such provisions were seen in Chandigarh.

Members of National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) were seen assisting the students reach their respective centres. NSUI leader Manoj Lubana said they had arranged for the stay of four students who weren’t from the Tricity for Tuesday’s exam. “Two students each from Himachal Pradesh and Punjab stayed with us overnight.” The NSUI also provided students with water and masks outside the exam centres.

Previously, NSUI had been protesting against the government for holding the JEE examination.

EXAM DUBBED EASY

Students who sat for the architecture exam on Tuesday confirmed that the exam was easy and was going to be a high-scoring one. Gaurav Mishra, a student from Dhakoli, said the mathematics portion was especially easy and he was hopeful to nail the entrance exam.

Ishan Chopra from Chandigarh also said the exam had easy questions and was of appropriate length. He finished the exam 15 minutes early, so he had enough time to revise. Manshika Bhardwaj from Chandigarh said though the exam was easy, her first attempt at JEE Main in January had been better.

Around 70-80 students were present for each shift of the exam and said social distancing and hygiene as mentioned by the National Testing Agency in their advisory were followed at the centres. Police were present outside the centres to maintain the orders.

The examination will continue till September 6.