The Joint Entrance Examination (JEE-Main), conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), for admissions to BTech/BE, BArch, and BPlanning courses in IITs, NITs, and other technical institutions got under way across several centres in Kerala on Tuesday.
The computer-based examination, which was held in two three-hour shifts — from 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. — was marked by a stringent screening process during which the candidates were made to sanitise themselves and were provided fresh face masks at entry. While they were not physically frisked, the candidates were made to pass through metal detectors. Besides their identification documents and admit cards, the students were permitted to carry pencil boxes and water bottles.
Roughly 50,000 students from the State have registered for the examinations being held in all districts except Wayanad. The capital district has five centres, including engineering colleges that have spacious computer laboratories. Several centres reported attendance of nearly 60% on the first day of the exam that will continue till September 6. The Part 1 of Mathematics, which comprised 25 questions, was felt by many as “time-consuming” with many questions requiring lengthy calculations. Papers on aptitude and drawing were easy, they said.
