The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test, which is scheduled on Sunday, has been postponed in Odisha due to Cyclone Fani, which made landfall on the state’s coast on Friday morning. Higher Education Secretary R Subrahmanyam said the new dates for the exam will be announced soon.

The examination selects candidates to undergraduate and postgraduate medical colleges and dental courses in the country. The Odisha government had requested that the exams in the state be postponed to continue relief and rehabilitation work following the cyclone, Subrahmanyam said.

The National Students’ Union of India had written to President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar, requesting them to postpone the NEET exam due to difficulties faced by students in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha under the cyclone’s impact, ANI reported on Friday.

“NEET exam for medical entrance needs a lot of concentration and dedication with the preparation of at least two years. The cyclone Fani that has reached the coastal belt of East India has created destruction, with no power supply and other unavailability of other basic needs,” the letter read.