National Testing Agency (NTA) successfully organised the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) 2021 exam on September 12, 2021. A record-breaking 16.14 lakh registered candidates had appeared for the exam on a nation-wide level across 3,862 exam centres. However, it doesn’t end here and a lot has happened in the NEET 2021 universe. Currently, while some students are demanding for the scrapping of the entrance exam, others are waiting for the official answer key to release. At the same time, the Phase 2 registration is expected to begin soon. Here are all the details that candidates ought to know –
NEET 2021 Phase 2 Registration date
This year, the NEET 2021 registration process has been divided into two phases – Phase 1 and Phase 2. While the first phase was conducted prior to the exam, the second phase is scheduled to begin soon. As of now, NTA is yet to announce the Phase 2 registration dates.
One thing’s for certain – this phase is likely to be conducted before the announcement of NEET 2021 results, preferably in September 2021 itself, as suggested by the information brochure. While waiting for the schedule to come out, candidates must visit the official website neet.nta.nic.in frequently for important updates in this regard.
NEET 2021 Official Answer Key Release
In 2020, NEET UG examination was conducted on September 13 through the pen-and-paper mode. Thereafter, provisional answer keys were released on September 26, 2020, on the official website ntaneet.nic.in. Candidates were given around 2-3 days to raise objections against the provisional answer key with valid proof and justification. The official answer key with the required corrections was released on October 16, 2021, hours before the announcement of results.
Taking this schedule into account, NTA is likely to release the NEET 2021 provisional answer key in the next two days, ideally on September 25, 2021. Candidates can calculate their tentative scores using the answer key which will be made available soon on neet.nta.nic.in. In case of any issues with the answer key, candidates can make use of the challenge facility to raise objections.
When will the NEET 2021 results come out?
Last year, the NEET results were announced on October 16, 2020, for the exam which was held 33 days before. Following this trend, candidates can expect the NEET 2021 results to come out on October 15, 2021. Official answer key will be released hours before the announcement of results. Hence, candidates can simply calculate their final score using the official answer key.
Cheating Scams that marred the NEET 2021 exam
Similar to JEE Main 2021, the UG medical entrance exam has also been marred by controversies and scams. Only recently, the Central Bureau of Investigation unearthed a scam in which a Maharashtra-based coaching centre, its director and several students have been charged.
Students were charged up to Rs.50 lakh, guaranteeing their admission in government medical colleges. Moreover, 5 proxies were prepared from the institute to give exam on the candidate’s behalf. However, these proxies did not appear at the selected exam centre where the agency officials were waiting to catch them.
CBI’s revelation comes amid the rise in suicide cases in Tamil Nadu with a third case of a 17-year-old allegedly dying through suicide was reported. In all, three suicide cases were reported in the last week, prompting an uproar in the state against the NEET 2021 examination.
In another attempt to scrap the NEET 2021 exam, Nana Patole, President of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee recently wrote a letter to CM Uddhav Thackeray, requesting him to scarp the UG medical entrance exam. Coincidentally, this was after the Tamil Nadu government passed a bill against NEET 2021 alleging that the exam was for the rich and elite sections of the society rather than the poorer/weaker ones.
In simple terms, NEET 2021 has been a rocky ride for students not only due to the COVID-19 pandemic but the cheating scams and uproars happening in and around the country.
