NEET 2020 in single shift on same day; no exam centres abroad: NTA

NEW DELHI: In an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, the National Testing Agency (NTA) has clarified that it is not possible to provide exam centres abroad in Gulf countries for National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, or NEET 2020. NTA has also said that the national-level medical entrance test has to be held in a single shift at the same time, to maintain uniformity, reported Live Law.

The affidavit was filed part of a court case filed by parents of students residing in Doha, Qatar, who had applied for NEET 2020. The parents’ plea was earlier dismissed by the Kerala High Court Justices L. Nageswara Rao, Hemant Gupta, and S. Ravindra Bhat. The petition filed mentioned assigning the test centres in Gulf countries.

Standing by the HC decision, NTA responded that the “the examination, in the present format, have been successfully conducted in the previous years i.e. 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 and, therefore, the Hon’ble High Court has rightly held that the same shall be permitted to be continued in the same format for the current year as well.”

NEET 2020 in single shift on same day

In its affidavit, the NTA explained why NEET cannot be conducted online. It said:

“MCI has taken its decision and, there is nothing on record which shows that the said decision of MCI is arbitrary and illegal particularly in the light of fact NEET (UG) is a uniform entrance examination, and to maintain uniformity for all candidates, it has to be conducted at the same time, on the same day, throughout India. It was for this reason that the said examination cannot be conducted in online mode.”

No exam centres abroad for NEET

Abiding by the decision of Kerala HC, the NTA also submitted in the affidavit that, “the manner as to how examination[s] have to be conducted is a policy decision and, is, purely within the domain of the examining body viz. Medical Council of India (MCI) and whether centres for conducting such examination should be provided in foreign countries, is in the province of MCI to decide.”

Plus, the exam will be held simultaneously everywhere.

Further the question papers and other exam materials are to be transported fron NTA headquarters to more than 6,000 centres in various cities, which would require diligent planning for safe and secured conduct of exam on time.

No comparison between NEET and JEE Main exam

In response to the demand for conducting medical entrance exam the same way the engineering entrance test, JEE Main, is held abroad cities, the NTA said that the petitioner cannot demand test centres abroad as the NEET is a pen-and-paper test.

“JEE (Main) is conducted in online mode in various cities in India and outside India as per the scheme of things. However, the NEET (UG) is being conducted in paper-back format ever since. Further, the JEE (Main) is a joint entrance examination for admission to Undergraduate Engineering Programs at NITs, IIITs, IITs, other Centrally Funded Technical Institutions (CFTIs). Whereas, NEET (UG) is being conducted as a uniform entrance examination for admission to all medical courses in all Medical Institutions across the country. No parity can be drawn between JEE (Main), which is for a non-medical course and NEET (UG) which is for a medical course,” said the affidavit.

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