NEET attempts capped at 3; age at 25 for unreserved

MUMBAI: Medical aspirants across India can now only take three shots at the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), a cap introduced to discourage the thousands who keep trying their luck at the examination. Also, candidates must fulfil a new age criterion if they wish to sit for the medical and dental exam.
The decision was taken at a University Grants Commission (UGC) meeting on Tuesday in Delhi. The minimum age to appear for NEET is 17 years. The maximum age for open category students is 25 years, and 30 years for the reserved category. To date, there has never been a maximum age defined to take NEET, nor has there been a limit on the number of attempts. “This is a good decision,” said Dr Pravin Shingare, director at the Maharashtra directorate of medical education and research (DMER).

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“There are some students who keep taking the test, and when they don’t make the cut, join a BSc college and keep taking the medical entrance test,” he added. In fact, the rule would also bar the faculty of coaching classes who keep on attempting the test to understand its altering pattern. The NEET information brochures contain this information and will be distributed soon. “We often find that coaching classes field candidates and sometimes that leads to fraud and cheating,” said an expert. This cap on age and attempts will force candidates to focus on the field where their capability and passion lie, said medical college principals.

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Two years ago, it may be recalled, the All India Pre Medical Test had to be conducted again as it was revealed that 90 answers had been transmitted to the candidates during the examination, for a fee of Rs 15 to 20 lakh. The AIPMT-2015 scandal had at least 45 beneficiaries who were supplied with special vests fitted with SIM cards and a bluetooth device, among other equipment, to facilitate the transmission of answers.

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While all-India data is unavailable, in Maharashtra, the number of older candidates competing with 17-year-old aspirants has been rising with each passing year. About 12,000 repeat aspirants took the CET in 2007, while in 2008, the number grew to 13,568. According to data collected from the DMER, the oldest candidate was 38 years old and at least another 100 aspirants were in their early 30s.

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SOURCE: Times of India

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