NEET 2021: Panel On Monday To Discuss Whether Exams Will Be Twice This Year; Know Details

A panel discussion will decide whether like JEE, NEET will be conducted twice a year and online on Monday.

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New Delhi: The dates for National Eligibility cum Entrance Test 2021 have not been announced yet. As per reports, senior officials from Health and Education ministries as well as National Testing Agency will meet on Monday – January 25 to discuss the modalities of the exam this year. National Eligibility cum Entrance Test is for undergraduate medical admissions, this year due to the ongoing pandemic the panel is likely to discuss the possibility of conducting NEET 2021 online and twice a year like JEE.

The government decided to conduct the computer-based JEE (Main) twice a year in 2019 and expanded it to four times a year from 2021. However, the medical entrance test continues to be held in pen-and-paper mode and just once a year.

“A student may not be able to appear due to various reasons or may have a bad day. Therefore, like engineering entrance, NEET too can be conducted multiple times,” Dr. Rakesh Yadav, President, Faculty Association of AIIMS told TOI. Close to 16 lakh aspirants registered for NEET-UG 2020, of which more than 13.5 lakh candidates appeared.  Dr. Yadav has said that is NTA can manage the logistics, conducting NEET twice a year could be a good idea.

Although, conducting the exam online has been largely protested against by the aspirants at the time of launch of National Testing Agency. The fact that many students from remote areas also appear for the examination and may not be too comfortable with online mode was raised. In the interaction with students, Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal has agreed to discuss the matter and the possibility of conducting the exam in online mode. Students feel they should get the benefit of multiple tests like the engineering aspirants. However, some are sceptical of making it computer-based. P R Subbaraman, a student from Chennai, said he welcomes the idea of NEET twice a year. “But online tests have many challenges, including connectivity issues. It's better to write a pen-paper exam,” told TOI.