Ministry of Education took to Twitter today, March 17, 2021, to confirm that the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) 2021 shall be conducted only once this year. National Testing Agency (NTA) shall be conducting the medical entrance exam on August 1, 2021, through the pen-and-paper format. Moreover, for the first time, NEET shall be conducted in 11 different languages including Hindi and English. The same was reiterated and confirmed by NTA through a public notice issued on March 12, 2021, on the official website ntaneet.nic.in.
The education ministry recently made an announcement confirming the NEET 2021 examination date, ending the long wait of lakhs of NEET aspirants across the country. Previously, there were speculations that the government was looking into conducting NEET 2021 twice. NTA had also decided to conduct JEE Main 2021 four times this year. Therefore, it was fair to make this assumption. However, the education ministry put these speculations to rest by confirming that NEET 2021 shall be conducted only once without any changes in the paper pattern.
The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the students’ education, bringing a delay in the academic year. To reduce this delay in the upcoming academic year, conducting NEET 2021 once is a better proposition. Conducting NEET 2021 twice shall increase the number of students scoring exceedingly well. This kind of competition shall put a pressure on the admission process. Conversely, conducting NEET once shall generate fair competition which the colleges can handle. However, conducting the exam once shall put a greater load on aspirants who are already affected by the pandemic.
While conducting NEET 2021 once has its own benefits, holding the exam twice has also got its advantages. If NEET 2021 was to be conducted twice, the rank would be decided by the best of two scores which is the biggest benefit. Secondly, the first attempt would be scheduled in July 2021 whereas the second attempt would be held in August 2021. This would give students ample time to study and improve their scores. However, the major disadvantage of conducting NEET twice is the delay that it shall create in the upcoming academic year.
NEET 2021 is scheduled to be conducted on August 1, 2021, as confirmed by NTA and the education ministry. This is the single medical entrance exam to be conducted across the country for candidates who wish to pursue medicine in prestigious institutions. Syllabus for the same shall be in accordance with the NTA. Registration process for the same is expected to begin soon on the official website ntaneet.nic.in.
Currently, NTA is conducting the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main 2021 examination phase 2. The March 2021 cycle is scheduled on March 15, 16, 17 and 18 at test centres allotted by NTA across the country. Results for the same shall be declared soon before the April cycle or phase 3 begins.
