Why Two Attempts for NEET UG are Required? Know opportunities and benefits

The demand to conduct NEET twice a year has been consistent among students over the past few years. The exam authorities were also mulling over the idea, but as per the latest news, the Government of India has ruled out the proposal. Know the opportunities and benefits that medical aspirants will get if NEET is conducted twice a year, here in this article.

Why Two Attempts for NEET UG Are Required

NEET or National Eligibility Entrance Exam is the biggest undergraduate medical entrance exam in India, taken by over 15 lakh candidates. With over one lakh MBBS seats, one can easily imagine the level of competition. Unlike JEE Main, NEET is held just once, medical aspirants are forced to put all their eggs in a single basket. Moreover, with the abolition of the state medical entrance exams and the institute-level entrances for AIIMS and JIPMER, the situation is all the more make or break for the students. As per last year’s data, over 56 per cent of NEET takers qualified for the exam. All these reasons lead to the demand for conducting NEET twice a year. But are the exam authorities in favour of this decision? Let us find out.

Since 2019, the National Testing Agency (NTA), the conducting authority for the exam and other stakeholders were mulling over the idea of conducting NEET twice a year. NTA and The Government of India has finally thrown light into this matter. It has been confirmed by the authorities that NEET will not be held twice a year. Rather, it has now been reinstated that NEET 2023, or the tests scheduled in the coming years will be conducted in a single day and single slot.

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• NEET 2023 Exam Day Live Updates
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NEET to be Conducted Once a Year

Confirming the matter,  the Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Bharati Pravin Pawar in the Lok Sabha said that there is no proposal to conduct NEET UG twice in a year. Currently, the National Testing Agency (NTA) conducts the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (UG) once in a year as an eligibility/ entrance test for medical courses in India. “National Medical Commission (NMC) & National Testing Agency (NTA) have informed that there is no proposal to conduct NEET UG exams for providing two chances in a year,” Pawar said.

Also Read: NEET UG to be Conducted Twice? Here's What the Govt. Has to Say

Earlier this year, NTA had confirmed through an RTI response dated January 26 that NEET will be conducted only once a year. The response by NTA stated, "Since there is no change in the decision of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare regarding the number of times the NEET (UG) to be conducted in a year."

Also Read: NEET UG 2023 to be Held Once a Year; NTA Confirms Through RTI Response

Student Demand on Conducting NEET Twice a Year

Sample the tweets below where NEET aspirants have demanded conducting the exam twice a year.

Even last year students had requested NTA to consider NEET multiple times in lines of JEE Main.

Earlier in the year 2018, the then Union Minister of HRD had given his nod to conduct NEET twice a year. It was the same year when the conducting authority for the exam shifted from CBSE to NTA. However, the test has been conducted once a year only. Since then, NEET has been conducted annually over a single-day and single slot window till 2021. This year also, no concrete decision has been taken yet. Now let us take a look at the reasons why students’ demand to conduct NEET twice a year is valid.

Why NTA Should Consider NEET to be Conducted Twice

There are multiple reasons why students and experts advocate the cause of conducting NEET UG twice a year. Let us check the reasons below:

Improves Chance of Admission: The ratio of NEET takers and MBBS seats is low, which is the cause of a high level of competition. With two opportunities to appear for NEET, candidates will have a better chance to secure a coveted medical college seat.

Saves a Year: It often happens that after an unsuccessful attempt in NEET, candidates either take admission to another course that they do not prefer and simultaneously prepare for NEET for next year, or they drop a year to prepare better and appear for the exam again. With two attempts, they will be able to save an academic year and take admission to a college and course of their choice.

Reduces Stress Among Students: As stated before, the conduct of a single medical entrance exam for a single day and slot narrows down the possibility of success and causes undue stress among candidates. Hence, it is very important to multiply the chances of taking NEET UG to help them cope with the undue stress.

Better Opportunity for Preparation: Getting two chances in NEET will also help students prepare with a better strategy. They will not only get adequate time for preparation but can strategise in a better way as well. In fact, they will get more time to prepare since they will get not one but two chances to prepare. If they feel underprepared, they can opt for the second date. And if they appear for the first slot and feel that their performance was not up to the mark, they can opt for the second attempt as well with a better NEET preparation scheme and exam-taking strategy, the learning which they would acquire in the first attempt.

Convenience to Select Exam Schedule: With the possibility of taking two attempts in NEET UG, candidates will get the facility to select an exam date as per their convenience. While some may prefer selecting the first slot for practice purposes and then taking the second test as a final attempt, others may prefer to appear for the second slot after complete preparation. There may be another group of candidates who would prefer to take the first attempt and crack it. The option to select the NEET exam date will also help them plan better and balance preparation with the Board exam or other competitive exams they plan to appear for.

Get a Sneak Peek at Question Types and Difficulty to Expect: Whether a student appears in the first slot or not, candidates will be able to get a thorough idea of the first slot NEET question paper, topics covered, difficulty level, etc. through expert analysis and student reactions. Owing to two attempts, NTA would be bound to have a normalisation process in place and lead to similar question types and difficulty levels for both attempts. Hence, those who would appear for the second round will be able to get an idea of what to expect in the second slot of NEET well in advance.

NEET 2023 exam has been conducted today, May 7, from 2 PM to 5.20 PM. The answer keys of NEET 2023 are being released by the coaching institutes along with solutions. NTA will release the provisional answer keys for NEET 2023 tentatively in the first week of June, followed by the final answer key and NEET 2023 result in the fourth week of June. According to the NEET 2023 analysis and student reactions, the difficulty level of the exam was easy to moderate. Chemistry and Botany were tough whereas Physics and Zoology were of moderate difficulty level.

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