Thursday, September 13, 2012

1st NEET for MBBS-BDS to happen on 5th May 2013

After facing quite a no. of roadblocks for a long period, gazette has been passed finally in favour of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for the MBBS and BDS and the date for the 1st exam is out, as the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) made the official announcement on 12th September 2012. The 1st NEET will be held on 5th May 2013. This implies that there will be one entrance test for all the medical aspirants across the country which all the medical and dental colleges in government and private sectors countrywide have to comply with and allot seats in MBBS and BDS courses to students based on merit secured in NEET from the next academic year (2013-14).

CBSE has been assigned with the responsibility of conducting NEET. The single exam concept was initiated with the sole purpose of saving the students from the hassle and stress of appearing for multiple tests. The NEET will be conducted in English, Hindi and all the regional languages in which the pre-medical/dental tests were held earlier. A single merit list will be created for the MBBS and BDS seats across the country, which will demonstrate state-wise merit list inclusive of the reserved-quota seats which would remain the way as had been decided by the state governments and private medical colleges.

The Medical Council of India and the Dental Council of India have already amended admission regulations for adopting NEET and entry to the medical and dental colleges across the country. The NEET syllabus was finalised after assessment of various state syllabi as well as those prepared by CBSE, NCERT and COBSE to ascertain uniformity across the country, considering the relevance of diverse areas in medical education.

However, the government is yet to take a decision on adopting NEET for admission to other allied medical courses viz. veterinary, agriculture, horticulture, nursing courses etc.