National Testing Agency (NTA) is soon, expected to release the NEET 2022 Application Form and official information brochure. Both documents will be released on the official website neet.nta.nic.in. However, even before the release of the information brochure, the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) 2022 has become a point of discussion in court. In fact, the Delhi High Court (HC) is soon going to hear the matter with respect to the eligibility criteria. A verdict in this regard will inadvertently affect the future of NEET 2022 aspirants.
Expected NEET 2022 Age Limit
NTA is yet to release the official NEET 2022 information brochure. So, candidates are clueless about the age limit applicable for this year’s entrance exam. However, referring to last year’s brochure, candidates completing 17 years of age at the time of admission or by December 31, 2021, were eligible to apply. For the UR/general category, the age limit was decided as 25 years with a 5-year relaxation for SC, ST, OBC-NCL, and PwD categories.
Some candidates are either underage or have crossed the 25-year age limit. If the same age-related eligibility criteria were to apply for NEET 2022, these candidates will not be able to fill out the form. This will render their efforts and months of preparation pointless.
Will NIOS-Private candidates be eligible for NEET 2022?
As per the NEET 2021 information brochure –
Candidates who have passed 10+2 from Open School or as private candidates shall not be eligible to appear for the ‘National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test’. Furthermore, a study of Biology/Biotechnology as an Additional Subject at 10+2 level also shall not be permissible.
This clearly implies that candidates studying or those who have studied in the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) were not eligible to apply for the medical entrance exam. Similarly, those with Biology/Biotechnology as an additional subject (PCMB) will also not be deemed fit to apply. This same clause is expected to apply for NEET 2022 even though it was subjected to several discussions and court hearings last year.
Dr. Amit Gupta’s take
Looking at the eligibility-related issues faced by candidates, Dr. Amit Gupta, a renowned personality in the NEET/JEE universe posted an important tweet via his official Twitter account @agupta_7. In his tweet, Gupta informed students that a hearing is scheduled to take place today, January 31, 2022.
Headed by Advocate Amit Kumar, the court hold discussions pertaining to Special Leave Petitions (SLP). These are pertaining to eligible matters with respect to education, age, and choice of subjects. The verdict thereafter is likely to impose changes in the NEET 2022 information brochure.
