NEET UG 2021 exam pattern will have no change: Report

NEW DELHI: The exam pattern of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, NEET 2021, will have no changes this year. Earlier, education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ said that the authorities are mulling over conducting NEET 2021 twice a year in online mode. However, now the medical entrance test will be conducted in pen and paper mode, between June-July.

As per The Times of India report, Amit Khare, secretary, higher education, said that any changes in the exam with such short notice will be unfair to students who are preparing for NEET 2021 and any further delay in the entrance test will affect the next session.

The education minister, in an interview, said that the NTA and senior officials of the education and health ministries had interacted to discuss whether NEET 2021 should be conducted twice a year and in computer-based mode. However, the consensus was not made on time. With the success of conducting JEE Main multiple times in a year and students getting more chances to improve their scores, the demands are the same for NEET 2021 also.

“In our view, NEET should be held more than once a year because at times it is possible that for some reasons, a candidate is not able to properly concentrate for a particular attempt. That should not result in the waste of one year. But multiple exams cannot be conducted in pen and paper mode. It will have to be computer-based,” The Times of India reported Khare as saying.

On conducting NEET in computer-based mode, the report further stated Khare: “It requires consultation with all the stakeholders because there is a difference between JEE and NEET. JEE is not compulsory for all engineering colleges, whereas NEET is mandatory for admission to all medical colleges. Also suppose a biology student is not comfortable with a computer, they need to practice and learn. That is why for any changes, we will give six to eight months’ notice.”

About NEET 2021

On the basis of NEET 2021, admission will be granted to a total of 82,950 MBBS, 26,949 BDS, 52,720 AYUSH, 525 BVSc and AH seats across India. Previously as many as 15,97,435 aspirants had registered for NEET and filled the application form.