NEET UG can't be conducted Online like JEE Main: NTA to SC

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NEET UG can't be conducted Online like JEE Main: NTA to SC

NEET is conducted in pen and paper mode for first year admission in MBBS, BDS and other medical courses

Thursday August 13, 2020 10:21 PM, ummid.com News Network

New Delhi: The National Testing Agency (NTA) Thursday said NEET-UG (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate) can'tbe conducted in Online Mode like JEE Main, and also ruled out establishing NEET Exam Centres abroad.

"NEET (UG) cannot be conducted in the same manner as JEE(Main). It is not possible to have examination centres abroad including in Gulf Countries, for NEET-UG 2020", NTA told the Supreme Court in an affidavit filed on Wednesday.

The Supreme Court during a hearing on July 19 had queried the Medical Council of India (MCI) why it couldn't conduct the NEET-UG (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate) online and asked it to respond to a petition, filed by parents of over 4,000 NEET candidates in the Middle East, seeking direction either to postpone the examination or allocate centres in those countries due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) is a uniform entrance examaintion. This examination is conducted through Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) in paper book format given to all candidates. This uniformity has to be maintained for all candidates. According to the BoG, MCI is of the view that this examination should not be conducted in online mode by National Testing Agency (NTA) for candidates abroad", the NTA said.

The NTA also said that courts can't give direction to the Medical Council of India (MCI) regarding the conduct of the entrance exams.

"Medical Council of India, the competent authority to conduct NEET examinations through NTA, has responded that this examination should not be conducted in online mode", the NTA said.

"The manner as to how examinations have to be conducted, is purely within the domain of the examining body i.e. Medical Council of India, and whether centres for conducting such examinations should be provided in foreign countries, is in the province of MCI, to decide", NTA said in its affidavit.

"The Court cannot issue any directions contrary to the view taken by an expert body viz. MCI", the NTA said.

The affidavit by NTA was filed in response to a plea by parents in Qatar and other Middle East countries whose wards are appearing for NEET UG 2020.

According to the plea, nearly 4,000 students have registered for the NEET-UG ( NEET 2020) from Qatar and other Middle-East countries and they are facing various procedural issues in getting affidavits attested by the Indian embassy due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

The petitioners have urged directions to the government either to allocate NEET 2020 examination centres in Qatar and other Middle East countries, or postpone it until the situation gets back to normal.

NEET (UG) 2020 was scheduled to be conducted on 03.05.2020. However, in view of the countrywide lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic, it was postponed and rescheduled for 26.07.2020.

While NEET is conducted in pen and paper mode for first year admission in MBBS, BDS and other medical courses, JEE Main 2020 is conducted online for admission in first year engineering.

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