Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has confirmed that two of the nation’s biggest all India level entrance examinations, Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main and National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) 2020 will be held after the last week of May. Both the exams are conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) and had to be postponed due to devastating corona virus outbreak in the country.
The ministry made the announcement on its official twitter account by tweeting, “Since Parents and Students have to travel to different examination centres, to avoid any inconvenience to them, Union HRD Minister @DrRPNishank has directed National Testing Agency @DG_NTA to postpone NEET (UG) 2020 and JEE(Main) till last week of May”.

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Expected JEE Main 2020 and NEET 2020 Revised Exam Dates
NAT conducts JEE Main in the first half of April and the exam is generally over before April 15, 2020. Whereas, NEET is always conducted in the first Sunday of May. However, given the situation, the traditions will break and both the exams will either be held in the 4th week of May or in the month of June 2020.
- Old date for JEE Main 2020 – 05, 07, 08, 09, 11 Apr 2020
- Old date for NEET 2020 – 03 May 2020
Expected dates if JEE Main and NEET are held in 4th week of May:
Last Week of May 2020 Dates | Days |
24 May 2020 | Sunday |
25 May 2020 | Monday |
26 May 2020 | Tuesday |
27 May 2020 | Wednesday |
29 May 2020 | Thursday |
29 May 2020 | Friday |
30 May 2020 | Saturday |
31 May 2020 | Sunday |
Or the expected date will be in the month of June 2020
JEE Main will be held in multiple dates, while NEET will be a single day exam. NTA will announce the exact dates soon, probably after April 15, 2020, when the lockdown is over. The agency will release it online on nta.ac.in, jeemain.nta.nic.in, and ntaneet.nic.in.
Release Date for JEE Main and NEET Admit Card 2020
Over 11 lakh candidates were waiting for JEE Main 2020 admit card and more than 15 lakh for NEET 2020 admit card. The admit card for JEE Main April attempt was supposed to release on 20 March 2020, and that for NEET was to release today, on March 27, 2020. Now that the both the exams have been postponed the issuance of hall ticket has also been delayed.
In the official notice for delay of NEET 2020, it is clear mentioned that, “Accordingly, the admit cards for the examination which were to be issued on March 27th March 2020 will now be issued later on after asserting the situation after 15th April 2020 only.”
Until 15 April 2020, there is a lock down in the India. Hence, the issuance of NEET 2020 admit card will begin after that. For JEE Main 2020 no such notice has been released but look at the scenario it is expected that it will also be available once the lock down is over.
Exploring the Possibility of Further Postponed in JEE Main 2020 and NEET 2020
Considering the worst, if the spreading of COVID-19 is not controlled by the month of May, then MHRD, NTA, and other exam holding bodies might have to further postpone all the entrance exams. COVID is a respiratory disease which is contagious. Hence, it is not advisable to conduct mass gathering and expose students to risk. However, initiatives take by Government of India are commendable and promising. It is likely that by April end the impact of the virus will be curbed and end of May 2020 will be safe to hold the entrance examinations.
How Postponing of Further JEE Main 2020 and NEET 2020 Is Not Good for Students
National level exams are not a big deal because students from all the state and board can participate in it but because various institutes, colleges and universities take admission on the basis of it. Through JEE Main, B.Tech admission in NITs, IIITs, and CFTIs is granted. Even to write JEE Advanced and get admission in IITs, students have to qualify JEE Man first. On the other hand, NEET is the only entrance exam for admission in MBBS, BDS, BAMS, BHMS, BSMS, and BUMS in India.
Hence, admission at vast level depends on these two exams. Now if these are postponed further then admission is delayed and the session begins late. Usually, engineering and medical session begins by August-September. However, it seems that in 2020 it will be pushed back a little.
What can you and I do to prevent your delay in your career? – Well, the most we can do is listen to our government and stay quarantined. Other than this, wash hands, cover mouth and nose while sneezing or coughing, and more most importantly do not hide the symptoms of COVID. Instead, seek medical aid.
JEE Main is a national level entrance exam for B.Tech / B.E / B.Arch / B.Plan admission. It is held twice a year, in the month of January ans April 2020. The January exam has been held and now the candidates are waiting for the April exam dates. On the other hand, NEET is held for admission in UG MBBS / BDS courses. However, this year onwards admission in UG AYUSH courses will also be held via it. While JEE Main is only held online, NEET is a pen and paper based test. Majority of audience for both the exams are those students who had science stream in 10+2. Hence, in the last week of May 2020 few candidates might have to appear back to back for both the exams. So, utilize this time wisely and prepare well. All the best!
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