IIT students, alumni launch portal to help JEE, NEET candidates in need of transport facility

In view of the upcoming JEE and NEET examinations, students and alumni of various Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have launched a portal to help JEE and NEET candidates with transportation facility amid the coronavirus outbreak.

New Delhi: Students and alumni of various Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have launched a portal to help JEE and NEET candidates with transportation facility, officials said.

Travelling concerns have been raised by students on social media amid the coronavirus risk. Also, many candidates have moved to different cities during the lockdown and hence, are at far off locations from the examination centres.

"During COVID-19 crisis, one of the major concerns amongst students is regarding difficulty in reaching the exam centres. Students and alumni of IITs have promptly come forward and launched a dedicated portal to connect with good samaritans who may want to help the needy candidates.

The portal called 'eduride' will ease the burden of commuting for the candidates, especially from remote locations and poorly connected areas," IIT Delhi Director V Ramgopal Rao said.

"After registration of alumni, volunteers and candidates, the portal will connect appropriate combinations of volunteers and candidates via an exchange of contact details. The two can then coordinate to plan the travel to the exam centre. The donated money will help the organisers fund cab service for the exam-takers on the day of the exam," he said.

There has been a growing chorus against the holding of crucial entrance exams like JEE-Mains, JEE-Advanced and NEET in September, in view of rising COVID-19 cases.

However, the Ministry of Education (MoE), has asserted that further delay in conducting the exams can lead to a zero academic year and hence, the exams will be conducted as per schedule in September.

While the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) is scheduled to be held on September 13, engineering entrance exam JEE-Main has been planned from September 1-6.

The exams have been deferred twice in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The JEE-Mains was originally scheduled to be held from April 7-11 but was postponed to July 18-23. The NEET-UG was originally scheduled for May 3 but was pushed to July 26. Subsequently, the exams were postponed again and are now scheduled in September.

Rao had last week appealed the students and alumni to come up with solutions to help the candidates with transport facility and other logistics support.

PTI