NEET, JEE to be held twice a year

​New Delhi: Giving a major relief to medical and engineering aspirants, Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar on Saturday announced that JEE (Mains) and NEET examinations will be conducted twice a year. While the JEE (Mains) will be held in January and April, NEET will be conducted in February and May, the minister said.

The newly-formed National Testing Agency (NTA) would conduct the national- level examinations such as NET, NEET, JEE (Mains) that were organised hitherto by the CBSE, Javadekar said. NET, a qualifying test for admission in higher educational institutions in the country, would be the first exam to be conducted by the National Testing Agency. 

The NTA would also conduct National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) and Graduate Pharmacy Aptitude Test (GPAT), Javadekar said. The students can appear both the times in National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and the best of the two scores would be taken in account for admission, the minister said. NEET is conducted for admissions to medical institutions across the country. 

"The exams will be more secure and at par with international norms. There will be no issues of leakage and it would be more student friendly, open, scientific and a leak-proof system," Javadekar told reporters. The NTA would benefit the students and they would have the option of going to computer centres from August-end to practice for the exams.

The tests would be computer-based. The exams would be held over a span of four-five days and students would have the option of choosing the dates, he said. 

The syllabus, question formats, language and fees for the exams would not be changed, he added. The time table of the exams to be conducted by NTA would be uploaded on the ministry's website, the minister said, adding that the IITs would continue to conduct Joint Entrance Examination-Advanced.  

The Union Cabinet had approved setting up of the NTA to conduct entrance examinations for higher educational institutions.  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).