FAQ: I’m a Class 12 Student, How Will COVID-19 Affect Entrances?

With the three-week nationwide lockdown in India and uncertainty over a foreseeable end to the COVID-19 outbreak, entrance exams for undergraduate courses are being postponed, like the NEET exam was. If you’re just about to graduate from school in 2020 and are fretting about your educational career, The Quint answers these frequently asked questions for you.

As India reels from the COVID-19 virus outbreak, and the subsequent lockdown, The Quint is answering any, and all questions you may have about the crisis. Email us at [e-mail] and read our other FAQs here.

Which Entrance Exams for UG Admission Are Postponed in India?

Here are some of the entrance exams which have been postponed, or have rescheduled their last date for application due to the coronavirus outbreak. This is not a comprehensive list and will be updated with further announcements.

• The English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU) in Hyderabad has postponed the entrance examination for its undergraduate courses which was scheduled for 12 April.
• The Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) 2020 has extended its last day to 25 April, and the exam has been postponed to 24 May 2020.
• NEET or the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), which is held for admission to undergraduate medical and dental colleges in India, has been postponed to last week of May. It was supposed to be held on 3 May.
• The JEE Main exam, for admission to IITs all across India, has also been postponed, and the new dates will be sometime in the last week of May. There is still uncertainty over when the JEE Advanced – the second level of the examination – will be held.
• The last date for applying to Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) entrance exam has also been postponed by a month. The JNU entrance exam is applicable for both undergraduate and postgraduate courses.
• The last day for application to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) entrance exams for its UG, PG and PhD programmes is till 31 March. There has been no word on whether the application deadline will be extended due to the lockdown. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research entrance exam is for admission to various agriculture-related courses, including veterinary, horticulture and fisheries courses.

What about admissions to Delhi University?

No change in the DU admission schedule has been announced yet.

I wanted to go abroad to study, can I still do so?

The exact impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on Indians planning to study abroad is still unclear. India is the second-largest source country for international students, second only to China. The coronavirus pandemic has had an adverse impact around the world, including in the US, which is considered to be a prime educational destination for Indian students. This will have an impact on the admissions for the Fall semester of August-September.

Speaking to The Hindu Business Line, Naveen Chopra, founder of The Chopras, which is a study abroad consultancy firm said, “As far as number of applications, enquiries and walk-ins are concerned, there hasn’t been a dip as of now. But there might be a fall in actual number of students going abroad, if threat of COVID-19 persists.”

If you have secured admission, you can consider contacting your University to shift your admission from the Fall semester to the Winter semester (in January and February). If you were one of the students who were planning to go abroad, the best alternative is to watch how the situation develops and keep a back-up course in India.