NEET 2020 Postponed due to COVID-19 Lockdown, new exam date could be end-May or June

NTA NEET 2020 has been postponed amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Check updates.

What is NEET?

The National Testing Agency conducts NEET for admission to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, veterinary and other medical/paramedical courses in India. The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) is conducted annually and is held across 154 test centres. With approximately 15,00,000 test-takers, NEET is the most important medical entrance examination in India. NEET 2020 will be conducted by the NTA on May 3, 2020.

Latest Updates: 

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.

NTA NEET 2020 has been postponed amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (Union Minister for Human Resource Development) has tweeted this update and advised students to stay at home. He has tweeted the following information from his twitter account. 

“In view of the hardships faced by the parents and the students due to COVID-19 epidemic, the National Testing Agency has postponed the ensuing NEET (UG) May 2020 examination scheduled to be held on the 3rd May 2020.

We are hopeful that we would get back to normal situation relatively soon; but for now, various concerned Ministries and Examination Boards are examining the scenario to evaluate the situation that may necessitate any change in the schedule.

As of now, the examination is proposed to be held in the last week of May 2020. The exact date will be announced later on after assessing the situation.

Accordingly, the Admit Cards for the Examination which were to be issued on 27th March 2020 will now be issued later on after assessing the situation after 15th April 2020 only.

We understand that the academic calendar and schedule is important but equally important is well being of every citizen including students.

NTA would expect students and parents to not worry about the Examination. Moreover, parents are requested to help young students utilize this time for preparing for the Examination and focus on critical concepts in order to close learning gaps if any, NTA would keep students updates about the latest developments and would inform about changes with ample time.
The candidates and their parents are advised to visit ntanee.nic.in and www.nta.ac.in for latest updates. They are also being informed individually through their registered mobile  number/ email-id. “

‘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.

NEET 2020 Some Facts and Figures

• 15,19,375 candidates registered for NEET 2019
• 14,10,755 candidates appeared for the examination that year.