NEET to be conducted once a year in ‘pen-and-paper’ format

MUMBAI: More than a month after announcing that the National Eligibility-cum-entrance Test (NEET) will be conducted online twice in a year, the ministry of Human Resource Development has cancelled the plans.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the human resource development (HRD) ministry maintained that NEET 2019 will be conducted only once, on May 5, that too in the pen-and-paper format. NEET is the nationwide examination held to select students for undergraduate medical and dental courses.

The decision to conduct NEET examinations in the traditional format comes after the ministry of Health and Family Welfare shared their worry that conducting NEET in an online format will be disadvantageous to candidates from rural India.

“The change in NEET exam pattern, which will now be a single exam in pen-and-paper mode and in the same number of languages as has been conducted last year, is on the request of the ministry of Health and Family Welfare, who wanted the same pattern followed last year to be maintained,” said the statement released by the HRD ministry.

The National Testing Agency (NTA), which will be conducting the exam, has also released a schedule for all competitive exams — National Eligibility Test (NET), NEET and Joint entrance Examination-mains (Jeemains) — to be conducted till May 2019. While NEET will be conducted only once, Jee-mains will be conducted twice — in January and in April.

The NTA is also establishing a country-wide network of Test Practice Centres (TPCS) for students from rural India to practice giving an exam on a computer.

Around 6,697 schools and engineering colleges have been tapped for this purpose across the country. “The TPCS will have a downloaded computer-based test which will be similar to the actual test. These tests will help candidates to familiarise themselves with the process,” states the circular.

These TPCS will be open from September 1 onwards this year.

ACCORDING TO THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE, CONDUCTING NEET IN AN ONLINE FORMAT WILL BE DISADVANTAGEOUS TO CANDIDATES FROM RURAL INDIA