Introduction
National Eligibility cum Entrance Test is a Medical entrance exam conducted by the National Testing Agency(NTA) for students who wish to study any graduate or postgraduate medical course in any government or private colleges.It is an assessment to test the eligibility criteria or ability of students to pursue a medical career.Neet-Ug has been introduced for under-graduate medical courses like MBBS,BDS and Neet-Pg has been introduced for post-graduate medical courses like MS,MD etc.There are certain Neet eligibility criterias imposed by the counseling committees in order to attempt the exam as well as be eligible to get an admission in a medical college.
NEET History
The idea of a common entrance test for medical admissions was proposed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in India in 2010. The purpose was to address concerns about multiple entrance exams conducted by different states and private institutions, which led to issues of standardization and irregularities. Neet was implemented by the Ministry of Human Resource Development(MHRD),Government of India and the Medical Council of India(MCI) from the academic year 2013-14 as an attempt to unify all the medical examinations all over the country.The implementation of NEET faced challenges, with some states and private institutions opposing the move.
In August 2016, The Supreme Court ordered that NEET would be the sole medical entrance exam from the academic year 2017-2018 onwards.
It was a replacement for the All India Pre Medical Test (AIPMT) and other state level examinations. It was the first kind of medical examination which held a record of 18.72 lakh candidates applying for 1,27,200 MBBS and BDS seats in all government, private and deemed medical colleges all over the country.
NEET Eligibility Criteria
- The NEET eligibility criteria is the qualification that one needs to hold in order to attempt the examination.
- The NEET exam can be attempted by students who are appearing or completed class 12 or equivalent from a recognised board as they match the neet eligibility criteria.
- The NEET exam is conducted in almost 13 languages including regional languages to eliminate the language barriers across different states.
- It has been beneficial to students as they don’t have to write multiple examinations to get an admission and it also helps maintain a standard quality of medical education in the country.
- There are no limits to the number of times a person can attempt the exam provided they fulfill the necessary qualifications.
- According to the NEET eligibility criteria, Indian nationals, non-resident Indians, overseas citizens of India, persons of Indian origin and foreign nationals are eligible to sit for the examination.