According to the latest decisions of the National Testing Agency (NTA), the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) UG will be conducted only once a year. The exam will be held on August 1. This exam requires a lot of planning and is held in offline mode so conducting it twice would be very difficult. NTA also stated that online testing is not suited for NEET and any sudden changes in the exam would make it difficult for the students to cope.
NEET would indeed require more planning, but it is worth taking the additional trouble. It may not be possible to hold the exam twice this year, but it definitely can be considered from next year. Providing students with more than one chance to face this exam will help all those who missed the exam or did not perform well the first time. They will not have to wait for a whole year to take the exam. NTA also proposes to hold the Central Universities Common Entrance Test twice a year. With a single agency involved in taking both JEE (Main) and NEET, it is possible to combine both the entrance exams. This will not only make it convenient for those attempting both. A single test with a four-part question paper including different sections such as Maths Physics, Chemistry, and Biology can be created. All those candidates opting for Engineering can take the first three parts and the ones opting for Health Sciences can attempt the next three sections. All those candidates who are trying for both can attempt all four sections. The admitting authorities can then consider the relevant marks. This will also make it simple to conduct the exam more than once a year.
Benefits of Conducting NEET Twice for NEET Aspirants
- It will reduce the pressure on the students as they have an option to appear twice a year
- There is no need to wait for a year to appear for the NEET Exam
- Conducting the exam twice will save the entire academic year for many aspirants which were not possible earlier
- Students can choose the ideal time to attempt the exam. This will be beneficial for all such students who are appearing for the board exams as then they will get ample time to prepare
- It will provide the students with a chance to improve mistakes in their second attempt
- The first attempt of NEET will provide the students with a real-time experience of giving the NEET Exam
Whether this mode is adopted or not, it is necessary that the NEET aspirants also get more than one opportunity in a year to take the exam.
