With the lockdown ending on May 3, there is enough speculation about the conduct of entrance examinations which were postponed including NEET UG, a national-level and only medical entrance exam held in India for admission to MBBS and BDS courses. NEET UG 2020 was scheduled to be held on May 3 but was postponed. National Testing Agency (NTA) which is responsible for organizing and conducting the exam had not given any specific dates, at the time of postponement, as to when the exam may be conducted.
Students who have applied for NEET UG are, naturally, at their wits end about the exam schedule and the uncertainty around the exam. Here's the development so far.
The announcement that NEET UG exam has been postponed came in March, when the lockdown period was announced till April 14. The exam had been postponed, and the authorities had announced that the exam will be rescheduled and held in May-end.
"We are hopeful that we would get back to normal situation relatively soon; but for now, various concerned ministries and examination boards are examining the scenario to evaluate the situation that may necessitate any change in the schedule. As of now the exam is proposed to be held in the last week of May 2020. Exact date will be announced later on after assessing the situation," said a notification by NTA.
However, the decision to conduct NEET exam in May-end was taken when lockdown period was supposed to end on May 14. With an extension in the lockdown period, the situation does not remain the same and it is not viable for the agency to conduct the examination in May-end now.
Keeping in mind the new circumstances, NTA has decided to further push the exam dates. News agency PTI quoted HRD officials saying that the postponed competitive examinations will, in all probability, be held in June-end.
"We are in consultation process now after the COVID-19 lockdown was extended up to May 3. The decision to conduct the JEE Main and NEET by May end was taken after keeping the April 14 deadline of the lockdown," an NTA official said.
The decision on examinations will be taken after the offices open upon lockdown relaxation.
Meanwhile, rumors were doing round that NTA has revised NEET UG exam syllabus which is far from true. There has been no such announcement by the exam conducting agency and the NEET UG syllabus remains the same as last year.
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