Health Ministry issues revised guidelines and SOP for conducting exams amid COVID-19

Considering the ongoing pandemic situation, the guidelines issued by Health Ministry provides instructions for exam conducting authorities regarding the precautions to be taken and arrangements to be made against before holding any examination.

Health Ministry Revised Guidelines for Exams: The Union Health Ministry today, i.e. September 10, 2020, issued revised Guidelines and Standard Operating Procedure for holding Exams including NEET 2020 and University level Final Year Exams 2020 which are scheduled to start in Sept 2020. Considering the ongoing pandemic situation, the guidelines issued by Health Ministry provides instructions for exam conducting authorities regarding the precautions to be taken and arrangements to be made against before holding any examination, especially large-scale exam such as NEET 2020, which is scheduled for September 13, 2020. According to the media reports, exam authorities are asked to consider these guidelines and SOPs as the minimum precautions to be followed during the planning and conduct of the examination. However, educational institutions are allowed to take other proactive steps, in addition to the ones issued by the government.

Highlights of the Revised SOP

The revised guidelines issued by the Union Health Ministry contain general preventive measures that are to be followed by students as well as the staff members and parents while being present at the examination centres. The key points of the guidelines and SOP are given below:

• Physical Distancing of 6 Feet to be followed as much as possible
• Use of face masks or face covers is mandatory for students
• Good Hand Hygiene to be followed with frequent hand-washing with soap or sanitization of hands using alcohol-based hand sanitizers
• Respiratory Etiquettes such as covering one's mouth and nose while coughing/sneezing with a tissue/handkerchief / flexed elbow
• Self-monitoring of health and reporting of any illness at the earliest
• Complete prohibition on spitting
• Installation of Aarogya Setu App to be promoted
• Exam Centres to be allocated only outside containment zones
• Staff-members and Students residing in the containment zone not allowed to appear for exam
• Social distancing provisions in exam halls with spaced seating arrangements
• Isolation room to be made available for any student or staff member who is found to be symptomatic at the time of screening or during examination

• If exam authority or institution is planning to provide transportation facilities to the students, the vehicles involved in the transportation of candidates to be sanitized at regular intervals
• Crowd Management to be done at entry and exit gates of exam centre
• Only those students and staff members who have submitted a self-declaration to be allowed entry inside the exam centre

To read the complete official notification released by the ministry CLICK HERE

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