New Delhi: The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to medical colleges in the country could be held twice a year from 2021.
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is considering such a proposal following requests from large number of students, Indian Express has reported.
The National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the test, said it will finalize the plan after getting the health ministry’s approval.
“NEET will be held twice in a calendar year like JEE-Main. There has been a persistent demand both from the students and teachers for this,” NTA director Vineet Joshi said.
Recently, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had announced that admission to AIIMS will also be conducted through NEET. This has led to an increased demand to hold NEET twice, similar to the format for JEE-Main.
Benefits of holding NEET twice:
The twice a year model will help the students to pace their studies and have an opportunity to appear again for putting a better performance without wasting a year.
The best of the two exam scores will be taken into consideration for preparing the merit list.