More than 21 candidates will compete for one MBBS seat in the upcoming medical entrance exam, NEET. As per a report shared by the NTA a total of 15,93,452 candidates have registered for the NEET 2020. This year onwards NEET will be the single entrance exam for MBBS admissions in all medical colleges of the country, including AIIMS and JIPMER.
As per a data shared by Union Minister Harsh Vardhan around 75,000 MBBS seats are available in the country for students who qualify NEET. The data pertains to the first parliament session of the 17th Lok Sabha which was held from June 17 to July 26.
Moreover, the number of registered candidates for NEET 2020 has also increased by almost 15%. Last year 15 lakh candidates had registered for the exam.
These figures ascertain the competitive level of the exam.
NEET 2020 will be held on May 3.
One way this stiff competition can be minimized is by increasing the medical seats.
However this seems farfetched. In 2014 the government had announced to add 10,000 MBBS seats by 2020-2021. This decision was taken in 2014 after the government had considered the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare's proposal relating to the Centre-sponsored scheme for upgradation of government medical colleges and increasing the number of MBBS seats. Under this scheme the funding pattern is 70:30 ratio between the central government and the state government, with an exception for the north eastern and special category states where the funding pattern is 90:10.
However a RTI reply, issued in February 2019, gave shocking reports of addition of only 920 MBBS seats as against the promised 10,000 seats in the last five years.
In February 2019, the cabinet gave approval for establishment of 24 additional Government Medical Colleges attached with existing district/referral hospitals by 2021-22. These additional medical colleges will come up in identified underserved areas in the country and would add 8200 MBBS seats.
Click here for more Education News
