Starting this year, admissions to MBBS course at 13th Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Jawaharlal Institute for Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry will also be done through NEET following amendment in the National Medical Commission Act, 2019 passed by Parliament last year. In many places, NTA also arranged buses and private vehicles to transfer candidates who arrived earlier to their assigned centers instead of the changed one.
A total of 15.97 lakhs of candidates registered for the test this year compared to 15.13 lakh in 2019. Attendance in 2019 was 92.9%. Unlike JEE (main), NEET-UG is a paper-and-pencil exam and NTA officials said it will be able to compile the data on Monday after the centers send feedback after the OMR sheets are submitted.
“Based on a random sample, attendance is between 85% and 90%, which is marginally lower than last year. The tests have been completed successfully, ”said a senior official at the NTA headquarters in Noida.
The test was offered in 11 languages: English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Marathi, Hate, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu this year. According to the initial report, more than 77% of applicants took the test in English, about 12% in Hindi, and 11% in other languages.
In a Mumbai center, the distribution of the questionnaire was delayed for half an hour because the access card to open the digital lock failed. Finally, the trunk had to be opened manually and the candidates had additional time.
Following the standard operating procedures of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the NTA to avoid overcrowding had to add and change candidate centers on September 10 and 11. Although the candidates were informed through phone calls and emails, they landed at their old centers in the Tomorrow. For example, in Nagpur, NTA arranged buses and vehicles to transport candidates to their correct centers before the exams began at 2 pm.
Additionally, per the MoHFW SOP, COVID-19 positive candidates were not allowed to take the test on Sunday and will be allowed to appear at a later date. According to Vineet Joshi, CEO of NTA, “Candidates who failed the test or were denied entry because they tested positive (for COVID-19) will be able to take the test later. They must follow the procedure, such as sending an email to the NTA attaching their medical examination certificate, etc. The NTA will take stock and announce the date later. ”
The candidates found it safe to take the exam. While the agency had assigned only 12 candidates per room, compared to 24 in 2019, many candidates said their room had even fewer candidates.
Nayan Chaudhari from Pune said: The document was like last year, not complicated. The seating arrangement was done well for 6 to 7 students in a class. “Saileza Biswal from Bhubaneswar said:” The biology was easy to answer. But the physics was tough. The exam went smoothly in the middle of the pandemic. ” . Sanjay Lokesh from Chennai agreed that the question work was moderate and the physics questions difficult.
According to CV Madhavi, Principal of DAV Public School, Pune, “NEET went off without a hitch. Social distancing happened in a very strict way. Students met all COVID standards. The NTA unit provided disposable masks, gloves, disinfectants, temperature control machines, blockers, non-contact searches ”.
The NEET-UG is conducted for admission to MBBS and BDS courses in medical and dental schools approved by the Medical Council of India and the Dental Council of India, respectively. The results are expected to be announced in the second week of October 2020.
In 2019, a total of 7.97 lakhs of candidates qualified for the test, including 2.86 lakh from the unreserved category, 3.75 from the OBC category, over 99,000 from SC, and over 35,000 from the ST categories . There are about 1 lakh of seats for MBBS and BDS available in India at all approved universities.
(With contributions from Swati Shinde, Abhishek Choudhuri, Hemant Pradhan, A Ragu Raman and Yogita Rao)
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