Far-off centres make aspirants break into a sweat, literally

Updated on: Tuesday, April 12, 2011

The very thought of appearing in IIT-JEE can make many a student break into a sweat figuratively. But this year, several candidates actually had to undergo the experience: they had to travel miles in the sweltering heat to reach their exam centres.

Many students from South Mumbai had to travel to Navi Mumbai to write the test, because IIT-Bombay—the JEE organising body for the western zone—could not find enough centres in the city’s central areas. “I had to travel to a college in Panvel,” said a resident of Malabar Hill.

IIT-Bombay officials said they had found it difficult to book centres in South Mumbai, as most schools were Catholic institutes and thus not free on Sunday on account of prayer meetings.

Other cities did not have enough centres either. “I had chosen Bhubaneshwar as my centre in December, but had to change it to Bangalore because of my CBSE exams. I have a Sanskrit paper tomorrow,” said Sai Sruti, a candidate. “Still, it was a 160 km journey by bus.”

Another IIT aspirant, Anusha Hegde from Sirsi, travelled eight hours by bus to reach Bangalore, where she took JEE.

Far-off centres make aspirants break into a sweat, literally

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