NEET postponed amid Covid-19 lockdown, new exam date could be end-May or June

The exam has been postponed till the last week of May or first week of June and the date to issue admit cards will be announced after April 15.

Applicants wait outside an examination centre to appear for NEET | Representational Image | PTI

New Delhi: Amidst the 21-day nationwide lockdown, the government has decided to postpone the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) meant for medical colleges, slated for 3 May.

Officials in the National Testing Agency (NTA), the body that conducts the exam confirmed that NEET is being postponed till the last week of May or first week of June and the date to issue admit cards will be announced after April 15, once the situation is accessed post lockdown.

The agency was supposed to release the admit cards for the exam Friday but they postponed that, giving an indication that the exam can also be delayed, however there is no confirmation on that.

On Friday evening, the NTA authorities have finally confirmed that the exam is being postponed.

An official notification was released in this regard by NTA late on Friday evening. HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank also tweeted saying that the government is postponing the exam.

Since Parents and Students have to travel to different examination centres, to avoid any inconvenience to them, I have directed National Testing Agency @DG_NTA to postpone NEET (UG) 2020 and JEE(Main) till last week of May. pic.twitter.com/loji50ZQq3

— Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (@DrRPNishank) March 27, 2020

‘Conditions not favorable for exams’

A senior official in NTA said, “The exam slated for May 3 is being postponed because the conditions are not favorable for an exam involving a large number of students in the current times. A new date will be announced later after consulting with different agencies.”

This caused anxiety and panic amongst more than 15 lakh NEET aspirants who had been waiting for some kind of announcement from the government.

Another entrance exam, Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) meant for admission to engineering colleges has already been postponed. However, there was no clarity on NEET. This year, 15.9 lakh candidates have registered for NEET across the country.

The ministry of human resource development had on 24 March asked all states and autonomous bodies to work on rescheduling exams. The NTA and CBSE were asked to work on rescheduling dates for competitive exams.

Board exams for class 10 and 12 CBSE have also been delayed because of the lockdown.