MCI debates holding NEET twice a year
TNN | Updated: Dec 6, 2017, 23:38 IST
Chennai: Is it possible to have two National Eligibility cum Entrace Test (NEET) sessions a year? The Medical Council of India is discussing the possibility of having two exams a year so that it can ensure it doesn't deny aspirants a chance after just one exam, MCI vice-president Dr C V Bhirmanandam said here on Wednesday.
In 2016, the Supreme Court made mandatory a common entrance examination for all medical admissions — undergraduate and postgraduate — across the country. Only central government institutions such as the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and PGI Chandigarh were exempted from taking the common entrance.
In 2017, all students in the open category who were admitted to medical college across the country had cleared NEET with a score of at least 131 marks out of 720. Those admitted under the reserved category scored at least 107 marks. "Some say that it is unfair to give students only one chance. Even board exams conducted by centres and states have supplementary tests. They have to wait for another year before they can attempt it the second time," he said.
In 2017, only 32,570 of the 83,859 candidates who wrote the exam in Tamil Nadu qualified, giving the state an overall pass percentage of 38.84%. While experts say the scores are likely to improve in the coming years as the syllabus improves and schools prepare students better, they wantr students to be given at least two tests a year. "More than students, it is the universities who push for this," said a vice-chancellor of a private university, who did not wish to be named. "We lost at least 15 BDS students this year, and the situation was worse in government colleges where the fee is low. Several dental and engineering seats are vacant because students in the second and third year of their courses quit after they cleared NEET," he said.
MCI officials say they may not be able to guarantee that students won't leave another course because NEET allows students up to the age of 25 to appear for it for students in the open category and up to 30 years for those in the reserved category. "As of now, we don't know if we should have it before the September 30 deadline for admission or after six months. If we do it after six months, colleges will have to apply for additional intake. This may require additional staff and infrastructure," he said.
TNN | Updated: Dec 6, 2017, 23:38 IST
Chennai: Is it possible to have two National Eligibility cum Entrace Test (NEET) sessions a year? The Medical Council of India is discussing the possibility of having two exams a year so that it can ensure it doesn't deny aspirants a chance after just one exam, MCI vice-president Dr C V Bhirmanandam said here on Wednesday.
In 2016, the Supreme Court made mandatory a common entrance examination for all medical admissions — undergraduate and postgraduate — across the country. Only central government institutions such as the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and PGI Chandigarh were exempted from taking the common entrance.
In 2017, all students in the open category who were admitted to medical college across the country had cleared NEET with a score of at least 131 marks out of 720. Those admitted under the reserved category scored at least 107 marks. "Some say that it is unfair to give students only one chance. Even board exams conducted by centres and states have supplementary tests. They have to wait for another year before they can attempt it the second time," he said.
In 2017, only 32,570 of the 83,859 candidates who wrote the exam in Tamil Nadu qualified, giving the state an overall pass percentage of 38.84%. While experts say the scores are likely to improve in the coming years as the syllabus improves and schools prepare students better, they wantr students to be given at least two tests a year. "More than students, it is the universities who push for this," said a vice-chancellor of a private university, who did not wish to be named. "We lost at least 15 BDS students this year, and the situation was worse in government colleges where the fee is low. Several dental and engineering seats are vacant because students in the second and third year of their courses quit after they cleared NEET," he said.
MCI officials say they may not be able to guarantee that students won't leave another course because NEET allows students up to the age of 25 to appear for it for students in the open category and up to 30 years for those in the reserved category. "As of now, we don't know if we should have it before the September 30 deadline for admission or after six months. If we do it after six months, colleges will have to apply for additional intake. This may require additional staff and infrastructure," he said.
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