Not Twice in a Year but JEE, NEET UG Will be Held Only Once in 2019! HRD Ministry Reconsiders Earlier Decision
According to recent sources, it seems that the ministry is reconsidering the decision. Now, the entrance tests will be held only once in 2019.
Every year, lakhs of students appear in the two most coveted national level entrance exams, Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) and National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, Undergraduate (NEET-UG). To get admissions in the best engineering and medical institute, students take up these tests. But not everyone can make the grade at once. Hence, candidates have to wait for one whole year to prepare their best and appear in the exam again in the following year. In order to make it more transparent for the aspirants, last month the Human Resource Development Minister (HRD) Prakash Javadekar decided to hold JEE and NEET twice in a year by the newly formed National Testing Agency (NTA). However, according to recent sources, it seems that the ministry is reconsidering the decision. Now, the entrance tests will be held only once in 2019. National Testing Agency to Conduct Computer-based NEET, JEE, UGC NET And CMAT Exams on Multiple Dates.
Earlier, it was also announced the entrance exams would be a computer-based exam by NTA. According to a TOI report, the HRD Ministry is discussing a health ministry proposal to continue with the offline mode for at least in the coming year. In addition, the HRD Ministry has also proposed to continue the exams on pen and paper mode in 2019. A senior health ministry was quoted in the same report saying, “The health ministry also feels that CBSE should assist NTA in the conduct of the exam as the board has been conducting it for many years.” Now the HRD Ministry is yet to take a call on the matter. A decision is expected to come forward in the coming week.
As per the previous announcement, the HRD Ministry also shared the tentative dates for conducting the entrance exams in the coming year. NEET-UG was scheduled to be held on February 2019 with a repeat in May 2019. And JEE Main in January followed with the repeat in April. Under pressure by the Health Ministry, the decision at least for next year shall be reviewed. The NTA will take care of the variation in difficulty levels in the entrance tests of each course through standardisation techniques while putting the final score.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 10, 2018 09:36 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).