JEE (Mains), NEET to be conducted twice a year: HRD Minister

NEW DELHI: Come 2019, aspirants will be able to take the Joint Entrance Examination (Main) and the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) twice a year in case they miss a chance or are not satisfied with their scores.

Ushering in major reforms in the examination system, the ministry of human resource development announced that the National Testing Agency (NTA) will now be conducting these tests, which were so far conducted by the

Central Board of Secondary Education. NTA will however start with the University Grants Commission’s National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) to be conducted in December. All the tests will be computer-based.

Announcing major changes in the examination system, Union HRD minister Prakash Javadekar said that apart from JEE (Main), NEET and UGC-NET, the NTA will also conduct Graduate Pharmacy Aptitude Test (GPAT) and Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) from 2019.

As per the press release, the following is the tentative schedule:

UGC-NET in December 2018

JEE (Mains) in January 2019 and April 2019

NEET (UG) in February 2019 and May 2019

CMAT & GPAT in January 2019

In Budget speech 2017-18, Union minister Arun Jaitley had announced the setting up of the NTA “as an autonomous and self-sustained premier testing organisation to conduct all entrance examinations for higher educational institutions”.

The Union cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had in November last year approved the setting up of the NTA.

So far, The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) conducted NEET on behalf of the Medical Council Of India and the Health Ministry and NET on behalf of the University Grants Commission (UGC).