HRD Ministry withdraws decision to conduct NEET twice a year and in online mode

A month after it announced that the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) will be conducted online and twice a year from 2019, the government on Tuesday rolled back the decision. The exam will now be held in the pen-and-paper mode and not online. Earlier, the Indian Express had reported that the HRD Ministry’s keenness to put off any changes in the NEET’s conduct is influenced by the Health Ministry, which fears an online (read computer-based) test would put students from rural and economically poor families at a disadvantage.

The registration process for NEET 2019 will begin from November 1 and the exam will be held on May 5. However, the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) will be held twice a year.

NEET 2019: Exams on May 5, check important dates

Online registration process: November 1 to November 30, 2018

Download of admit cards: April 15

Date of examinations: May 5

Result date: June 5, 2019.

Addressing a press conference on July 6, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar had announced that the newly formed NTA would now conduct national-level entrance examinations — NET, NEET, JEE (Mains) — that were organised by the CBSE. According to the examination calendar released by him, JEE (Mains) would be held in January and April, NEET was supposed to be conducted in February and May. National Eligibility Test or NET would be conducted in December.

The Health Ministry, The Indian Express has learnt, sent a letter to the HRD Ministry within three days stating that the public announcement on the NEET was made “without formal consultation” with them.

In its letter, the Health Ministry listed eight problems that it anticipated because of Javadekar’s announcement. Apart from concerns that a test in online mode would put poor and rural students at a disadvantage, the Health Ministry had a problem with the examination calendar announced for the NEET.

More News
GATE 2025 Topper List: IIT Roorkee announces subject-wise AIR 1 list
GATE 2025 Subject-Wise AIR Toppers List: The all India rank (AIR) list indicating the toppers in the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) 2025 has been released. Candidates can now check the subject-wise top rank holders in GATE 2025 at ...
JEE Advanced 2025: SC asks Centre, JAB, others to respond to plea
The Supreme Court on Thursday sought responses from the Centre and others on a plea seeking a direction to allow students, who had passed Class 12 exams in 2023, to participate in JEE Advanced 2025 for securing admissions in the Indian Institutes of ...
Rajasthan REET 2024 answer key out at reet2024.co.in
REET Answer Key 2025 Released at reet2024.co.in: The Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education (RBSE) has released the Rajasthan Teacher Eligibility Test (REET) answer key 2025 on March 25. Candidates who had appeared in the exam can now download t...
GATE 2025 Topper List: IIT Delhi announces subject-wise AIR toppers list
GATE 2025 Subject-Wise AIR Toppers List: The all India rank (AIR) list indicating the toppers in the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) 2025 has been released. Candidates can now check the subject-wise top rank holders in GATE 2025 at ...
MAH CET 2025: Normalistion process for MBA, MCA scores | Explained
MAH CET 2025 Normalisation: The Common Entrance Test (CET) cell, Maharashtra, has released the normalisation method for MAH CET 2025 for MBA and MCA programmes to ensure fairness in score calculation, as the exams are conducted in multiple shift...
Bihar Board 12th Result 2025 (Out) Direct Link: Check roll-number wise result on education.indianexpress.com
BSEB Inter Result 2025: The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) released the Class 12 intermediate results today, March 25. The BSEB official websites—interresult2025.com and https://www.vidyavision.com/—will make th...
APSC CCE 2025 Notification Released: Applications to start from March 28 - Eligibility, fees, exam process
APSC CCE Prelims 2025 Notification Released: The Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) has released the notification for the Combined Competitive (Preliminary) Examination 2025. Eligible candidates can apply online through the official website,...
Bihar Board 12th Result 2025: BSEB Inter scorecards expected date and time
Bihar Board Class 12th Result 2025 Date: The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB), Patna, has completed the Class 10 and 12 examinations. The results for the BSEB Class 12 (Intermediate) exams will likely be released on March 27, as reported by...
GATE 2025 ECE (AIR 1): ‘I prepared during my 3-hour commute to Jadavpur University
Swarnava Biswas from West Bengal has achieved a score of 82.67 out of 100 in Electronics and Communication Engineering in the GATE 2025 exam. Coming from a unique background, his father is a chess coach, while his mother is a professional photographe...
Assam Board Paper Leak: Class 11th Maths exam cancelled, new date later
The Class 11 Mathematics paper of the Assam state board was allegedly leaked, forcing the authorities to cancel the examinations on Thursday and lodge police complaints, officials said. The new date and further updates will be notified soon, the mini...