AIADMK garnered attention of other political parties in the Lok Sabha today while its member Dr. M Thambi Durai raised the issue of centralised entrance tests for engineering, medical courses. Dr. Durai, also the deputy speaker in the house, demanded the right for States to conduct the exams. He said shortage of doctors in rural areas is because States are not allowed to hold tests. Raising the issue during Question Hour, he said since the National Testing Agency (NTA) will hold entrance tests twice a year, students will spend more time on the exams than on the class 12 syllabus. He said such joint or combined tests only help elites get through.
The central government has recently announced the formation of NTA which will be authorized to conduct competitive entrance examinations like NEET, JEE Main, UGT NET, CMAT and GPAT.
NTA To Conduct 'Computer Based' Exam But Not In 'Online' Mode
Responding to a supplementary, Prakash Javadekar said the NTA will not conduct the NEET and JEE main exams in 'online' mode. He said Internet connection could be an issue in some areas, therefore, the test will not be in online format. The agency will conduct the 'computer based' exams where students have to answer the questions in a downloaded answer sheet using mouse. He also said that in the first year, students will also be allowed to take the test in pen and paper format.
HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar also said that while 24 lakh students sit for JEE and NEET exams annually, the exams conducted by the State governments witness close to 1.5 crore students.
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