Health Ministry issues SOP on preventive measures during exams; read details

Even as thousands of students flock to exam centres for NEET-JEE and other entrance and terminal exams across India, the Union Health Ministry has issued fresh guidelines on preventive measures to be followed to arrest the spread of COVID-19 disease.

On Wednesday, the Health Ministry released a fresh Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) which included simple public health measures that are to be followed to reduce the risk of Coronavirus transmission. These measures need to be observed by all (staff, students, and parents) in these places at all times.

These include:

1. Physical distancing of at least 6 feet to be followed as far as feasible;
2. Use of face covers/masks to be made mandatory;
3. Practice frequent hand washing with soap (for at least 40-60 seconds) even when hands are not visibly dirty. Use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers (for at least 20 seconds) can be made wherever feasible;
4. Respiratory etiquette to be strictly followed. This involves the strict practice of covering one's mouth and nose while coughing/sneezing with a tissue/handkerchief/flexed elbow and disposing off used tissues properly;
5. Self-monitoring of health by all and reporting any illness at the earliest;
6. Spitting shall be strictly prohibited;
7. Installation and use of Aarogya Setu App shall be advised to all, as far as feasible.

Entrances to the exam centres must have mandatory hand hygiene and thermal screening provisions. If any examination functionary/examinee fails to meet the self-declaration criteria, they shall not be allowed entry. Only asymptomatic staff and students shall be allowed inside the examination hall.

In the regular course, a symptomatic candidate should be referred to the nearest health center and given an opportunity to undertake the examination through other means or the Universities/Educational Institution shall arrange for taking the exam at a later date when the student is declared physically fit. However, if a student is found to be symptomatic and insists on giving the examination, he may be allowed to take examination by shifting the candidate to a separate isolation room. The permission in such cases shall be granted as per the policy already enunciated on the issue by the Examination Conducting Authorities.

All staff and students to be allowed entry only if using face cover/masks. The face cover/mask has to be worn at all times inside the examination center by all. Bags/books/mobiles should not be allowed in the examination center.

Moreover, the guidelines say appropriate arrangements for personal protection gears like face covers/masks, and other logistic like hand sanitizers, soap, sodium hypochlorite solution, etc. shall be made available by authorities conducting the exams to the staff as well as students as per requirements. The examination center should have a designated isolation room for isolating any person who is found symptomatic at the time of screening or during the examination, till such time medical advice may be sought.

The whole SOP by the Ministry can be accessed here.

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NEET-JEE exams go ahead

JEE-Mains, the first large scale exam to be conducted amid the pandemic, is scheduled from September 1 to 6. Over 9 lakh candidates have registered for the exam for admission to engineering courses in IITs, NITs, and Centrally Funded Technical Institutions (CFTIs). Increasing the number of examination centres, alternate seating plans, fewer candidates per room and staggered entry and exit are among the steps the National Testing Agency has taken for safely conducting the crucial exam.

There has been a growing chorus for postponing JEE-Mains and medical entrance exam NEET amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases. The Supreme Court had earlier dismissed a plea seeking postponement of the two exams amid a spurt in the number of COVID-19 cases, saying a "precious year" of students cannot be wasted and life has to go on.

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