NEET 2021: The National Testing Agency (NTA) is considering holding the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) twice in a calendar year, NTA director Vineet Joshi said. The planning is at the initial stage and the exam authority will proceed only after receiving an approval from the Ministry of Health, he informed.
“We have received lots of communications from the students and teachers across the country and are, therefore, thinking of conducting it twice a year, like the JEE Main,” Joshi remarked.
The director stated that there will be no change in the exam dates or pattern for 2020. “The exam schedule for NEET 2020 will remain unaffected. Even if we plan to conduct the medical entrance exam twice, it will happen only in 2021.”
Meanwhile, an official from the Ministry of Health told indianexpress.com, “It is under the consideration of the Health Ministry and we will soon take a decision.”
Recently, the Ministry of Health announced that admission to MBBS courses in medical colleges across the country including JIPMER and all the AIIMS will be through the common national entrance test NEET.
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“The common national entrance test — NEET — applicable to institutes of national importance like AIIMS and JIPMER and common counselling for MBBS, as per the National Medical Commission Act, will come into force from the next academic year (2020),” read the official notification.
After the decision of the Health Ministry to make NEET a single entrance examination, students and teachers from across the country demanded that the medical entrance examination be held twice a year.
Founder and CEO of exam preparation website Adda 247, Anil Nagar suggested that NTA allow students to appear twice like in JEE Mains as it would improve their chances of qualifying.
“If the NTA followed the same pattern for JEE Main in conducting the NEET, there will be a huge reduction of pressure on medical students for the entrance exam. The module of NEET should follow the structure of JEE Main as it is a single door to get entry into medical colleges across the country. Apart from JEE, the states conduct their own entrance exams for admissions to engineering colleges,” Anil Nagar said.
Maintaining the AIIMS exam standard is important
Another medical exam teacher from Kolkata, Indrasish Banerjee expressed concern over the admissions in AIIMS MBBS exam through NEET. “Over the years, we have found that the AIIMS MBBS test is tougher than any other medical entrance examination. Therefore, to maintain the standards, NTA needs to focus on the paper pattern,” he commented.
The student community is also urging that the government should give at least two chances to students so that just like JEE Main, they can also pick the score of the best of two exams.
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“This year, around three students committed suicide in Tamil Nadu after they failed to crack the medical entrance examination. If the Health Ministry can make it twice a year, then students can prepare for the examination without stress and will get a fair chance to evaluate themselves,” Anvith Balakrishnan, a NEET aspirant from Tamil Nadu said.
The online application process for NEET 2020 will begin from December 2 and continue till December 31, 2019.
Courtesy: The Indian Express
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