Will NTA Reduce NEET 2021 Syllabus like CBSE Did for Board Exams?

Reduction of NEET 2021 syllabus like CBSE Board Exams is one of the important topics of discussion among aspirants. NTA is expected to release an official notification soon regarding NEET exam dates, syllabus, and pattern. Read the article to know more about NEET 2021 syllabus reduction.

Since the day the Education Ministry announced to reduce CBSE syllabus for the year 2020-21 for classes 9 to 12 standard, reduction of NEET 2021 syllabus was one of the important topics of debate among NEET exam aspirants. Candidates who are preparing to appear for NEET 2021 exam are a little anxious to know the NEET exam syllabus. There seems to be confusion on NEET 2021 syllabus due to various versions of announcements on different occasions. In past, aspirants also took various social media channels to request Education Minister to give clarity about the NEET syllabus.

Candidates will probably get clarity on the reduced syllabus for NEET 2021 once NTA releases the official notification regarding NEET 2021 exam schedule. NTA is expected to release NEET exam dates along with the information brochure anytime soon. Candidates will be able to fill NEET application form after NTA starts the registration process.

CBSE syllabus reduction led students to expect NTA to cut short NEET 2021 syllabus

On July 7, 2021, Ramesh Pokhriyal, Union Minister for Human Resources announced a 30 percent CBSE syllabus reduction amid COVID-19. The Minister justified the decision to reduce the CBSE syllabus as students weren’t able to attend a sufficient number of classes during regular classroom teaching by school teachers. The CBSE announced that, though the syllabus was cut, it ensured that the learning outcomes remained the same and the students didn’t miss out on learning core concepts in various subjects.

NEET 2021 syllabus reduction: Different versions by HRD Minister

Candidates preparing for NEET 2021 got a little confused after Education Minister reportedly made two different statements in two days. On January 18, 2021, Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank announced that the NEET 2021 exam will be conducted as per the revised CBSE Board Exams syllabus. He made the statement while interacting with Kendriya Vidyalaya students during a live webinar where he answered various questions asked by students.

On asking about whether aspirants have to study the entire CBSE syllabus for NEET 2021 exam, the Minister reportedly said that the students will only have to study the revised syllabus for their CBSE Board exams and other competitive exams (Joint Entrance Exam, JEE Main 2021, and National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test, NEET) based upon the CBSE board syllabus. No questions would be asked from the reduced portion of the syllabus.

However, the Ministry of Education on January 19 made a clarification, stating that the NEET 2021 syllabus will remain unchanged for the academic year 2021. However, unlike previous years, this year the candidates will be given options to answer the questions in NEET 2021 examinations. The NEET 2021 entrance exam will offer candidates 20% more questions to choose from to make up for the learning losses of last year.

Why CBSE syllabus matter for NEET 2021 exam?

The curriculum of Class 11 and Class 12 forms the base of the NEET 2021 exam. Questions are asked from Physics, Chemistry, and Biology of Class 11 and Class 12 standard in NEET 2021 exam. As the CBSE syllabus was reduced, cutting some topics from each of the subjects, NEET 2021 syllabus was bound to be impacted. When the decision to cut short the CBSE syllabus was announced in July, that time classes were mostly taken online by various schools due to covid-19 led lockdowns and restrictions.

It was quite obvious that teachers will focus on reduced CBSE syllabus for class 11th and 12th standard and unwilling to cover the entire syllabus for NEET 2021. Those who were preparing for NEET 2021 exam, had to depend on self-preparation or coaching classes to help them cover entire topics and syllabus for NEET 2021.

All confusion will go away once the NTA will announce the NEET 2021 schedule. NTA is expected to release NEET 2021 syllabus along with NEET 2021 pattern and marking scheme anytime soon.