The National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test- Undergraduate (NEET-UG) is the largest entrance exam in the country in terms of the number of candidates appearing for the test.
Earlier this year, a record over 24 lakh candidates took the exam. As per Section 14 of the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Act, 2020, there shall be a uniform NEET (UG) for admission to undergraduate courses in each of the disciplines i.e. BAMS, BUMS, and BSMS courses of the Indian System of Medicine in all Medical Institutions governed under this Act.
Drawing from the NEP 2020, the NEET (UG) has been conducted in 13 languages in recent years. The 13 languages are Assamese, Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.
Speaking about the NEET paper pattern, the Education and Health Ministries are currently discussing whether the NEET-UG medical entrance exam should be conducted in pen-and-paper mode or online. To know more, read the detailed story below.
NEET in online or pen and paper mode: Decision expected soon, says Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan
The Education and Health Ministry are deliberating on whether to conduct medical entrance exam NEET-UG in pen and paper mode or online mode and a decision in this regard is expected soon, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Tuesday.
The Education Ministry has held two rounds of talks with the Health Ministry led by Union Minister JP Nadda. Currently, NEET-UG is conducted offline-in pen and paper mode – wherein students have to solve multiple-choice questions on an OMR sheet. In 2024, NEET UG was held in pen and paper mode.
“The administrative ministry of NEET is Health Ministry and hence we are in talks with them about whether NEET should be conducted in pen and paper mode or online mode. We have had two rounds of talks with Health Ministry led by JP Nadda. Whatever option will be considered best suited for conducting the exam, NTA is ready to undertake the exercise,” Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told reporters.
The Minister said a decision in this regard is expected soon and the reforms will be implemented in the 2025 edition of the exam, news agency PTI reported. “What will be NEET’s methodology, what will be the protocol…a decision is expected soon. We will notify it soon,” he was quoted .
The idea of switching to Computer Based Test (CBT) mode for NEET is not new and has been deliberated several times before. However, the push for the exam reforms came following the paper leak controversy earlier this year.
The NTA conducts the NEET every year for admission into medical colleges. A total of 1,08,000 seats are available for the MBSS course. Of the seats available for the MBBS course, approximately 56,000 seats are in government hospitals and about 52,000 are in private colleges. Admissions to undergraduate courses in Dentistry, Ayurveda, Unani, and Siddha also utilise the results of the NEET for admission.