No policy decision to conduct NEET 2022 twice a year: NTA in RTI reply

NEW DELHI: The Government is not considering conducting National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) UG 2022 twice a year for now. “As of now, there is no policy decision taken by the Competent Authority to conduct NEET (UG) twice a year. NTA has no role in deciding the number of attempts," the National Testing Agency (NTA) in a Right to Information (RTI) reply. The RTI was filed by Vivek Pandey seeking status on conduct of NEET exam two times a year.

Also Read | ‘Legitimise superstitions’: What Ayurveda courses teach and why there’s demand for change

NTA replied that it conducts NEET exam on the behest of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and its responsibility is limited to inviting online applications, conducting the entrance test, declaring the result and providing the All India Rank (AIR) to the ministry.

RTI applicant Pandey told Careers360, "I filed this RTI application to know what the government is doing on conducting NEET twice a year. When NEET was implemented in 2016 at pan-India level, there was a provision to take the medical entrance exam in multiple sessions to reduce mental pressure of students. It was said that through this, students will get a chance to improve their scores. But this is yet to be implemented and we can see lots of irregularities in the NEET 2022 exam. I want the government should give a fresh chance to all deserving students who suffered due to irregularities.”

Also Read | NEET AIQ, Exam Delays: Jammu-Kashmir MBBS students are looking for alternatives

He added that he will go to Delhi and try to meet health ministry officials on this issue. Pandey hopes that this decision will be implemented soon.

Several NEET aspirants have been demanding the exam twice a year due to irregularities and technical snag in the exam. This year, NEET UG 2022 candidates faced issues such as the Kerala incident where female candidates were asked to remove innerwear to write exams and mix-up of English and Hindi paper at a centre in Rajasthan after which it was decided to reconduct the exam for those candidates.

Also Read | Tiger gets lion’s share of attention; small carnivores need conservation too: Study

In 2021, the health ministry had hinted at conducting the medical entrance exam twice like JEE Main exam since many students were not ready to appear for online mode exam.

Moreover, it is to be noted that the University Grants Commission (UGC) has announced the merger of JEE Main, NEET into CUET and proposed a single entrance exam.