Ease the exam pressure

About NEET:

• The National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET), formerly the All India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT), is the qualifying test for MBBS and BDS programmes in Indian medical and dental colleges.
• It is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA).
• The NEET exam is conducted online and in 11 languages — English, Hindi, Marathi, Odia, Tamil, Marathi, Urdu Bengali, Telugu, Kannada, and Assamese. The duration of the examination is three hours and a candidate needs to answer 180 questions.
• The exam paper is divided into three sections — Physics, Chemistry and Biology (Botany and Zoology).
• NEET is based on a core curriculum approach, whereby the syllabi of all the school boards have been taken into consideration.
• It has been prepared by the CBSE, Council of Boards of School Education, National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and adopted by the Medical Council of India.

What are the issues with NEET?

• There are allegations that NEET is infringing upon the state governments’ power to hold admissions in the medical colleges funded by them.
• Students from some of the state boards are at a disadvantage from progressive boards.
• Students in rural India and those studying in state government-run schools seem to have a lesser chance of success.
• These examinations do not test the attitude and aptitude of the students correctly.
• There is more concentration of students from national boards clearing the exam.
• At present a candidate can claim domicile in more than one state, which makes the admission process lengthy and allows scope for malpractices.

Issue with Tamil Nadu Government

• Earlier this year, Tamil Nadu government passed a resolution reserving 7.5% seats in undergraduate medical admissions for government-school students who qualified NEET. However, it is possible that this may be challenged in court.
• In the past, reservations in engineering admissions for children of Tamil scholars, staff of Anna University and from rural schools and the Tamil Nadu government quota were all abolished gradually by the courts.
• NEET has come to stay. Similarly, JEE (Main) will be perpetual. In 2002, the CBSE announced JEE (Main) in the place of the All India Engineering Entrance Examinations under National Policy on Education, 1986.
• JEE (Main), which is mandatory for admission in NITs and NIITs and necessary but not sufficient for IITs, is just the AIEEE in a new form. For both this exam and the NEET, the syllabus is clearly set out.

Merging JEE (Mains) and NEET

• Along with the above suggestion is another: to combine the NEET and JEE (Main) exams into one.
• Since 2019, the National Testing Agency (NTA) has been conducting JEE (Main) twice a year (it will be held four times only in 2021). Those who miss the first exam can take the second without waiting for a year.
• For those who take both, the better marks will be counted.
• Percentile rank lists, and not raw rank lists, will be merged to prepare a single list.
• NEET too deserves to be held twice a year for the same reason. But this may mean that some students may have to take four entrance exams a year, besides the board exams, which may be too stressful.
• In the place of an exclusive NEET and JEE (Main), exams on their subjects — Biology, Maths, and Physical Sciences — could be held over a single day.
• Candidates for NEET can choose to answer Biology and Physical Sciences; those for JEE (Main) Maths and Physical Sciences; and those who try for both will write all three.
• The admitting authorities can also accordingly consider only the relevant subjects. This will reduce the strain on the students. The exam can also be held twice in a year in the same way.