All India JEE-NEET Student Association urges AIIMS, AFMC, JIPMER, CMC Vellore to conduct NEET, demands exam twice a year

New Delhi: While the National-Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) was held only last Sunday, the All India JEE-NEET Student Association (AIJNSA) has once again started raising its demands for implementation of the NEET examination twice a year.

Apart from this, writing to the premier medical institutes such as All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research (JIPMER), Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), and Christian Medical College (CMC) Vellore, the association has also suggested that these institutes should take the responsibility of conducting NEET-UG following the pattern of JEE-Advanced that is conducted by all IITs.

Referring to its campaign for conducting NEET twice a year, AIJNSA has mentioned, "NEET-UG should be conducted twice a year because it will provide a fair chance to deserving candidates who are unable to secure a seat in their desired course or institution due to the limited number of government seats available."

"Additionally, conducting NEET-UG in two phases can reduce the pressure and mental stress on students, thereby enabling them to perform well without worrying about the consequences of failure," the association further mentioned.

Apart from this, referring to the alleged irregularities in conducting NEET, the association has also written to the premier medical institutes across the country asking them to conduct the UG medical entrance examination.

In this regard, AIJNSA mentioned in a recent Tweet, "@AIJNSA_official submitted a letter to top medical colleges in India - All AIIMS, AFMC, JIPMER etc seeking their opinion on conducting #neet like JEE Advanced.We need to address the irregularities in NEETUG under NTA and explore better ways to conduct the exam."

Writing to the medical colleges, the association stated, "As you may be aware, there have been numerous irregularities in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET)-UG conducted by NTA, including instances of paper leak, which have had a detrimental impact on the future of many talented students."

"In light of these issues, AIJNSA is suggesting that NEET-UG should be conducted by all premier medical institutions in India, including AIIMS Delhi, JIPMER, AFMC, and CMC Vellore, similar to the JEE-Advanced conducted by all IITs. We believe that conducting the exam through these institutes will ensure greater security, transparency, and fairness in the exam process, and will prevent any future instances of paper leaks or other irregularities," it further mentioned.

"We have attached some proof regarding the recent NEET-2021 paper leak, which we believe further supports our proposal. As esteemed medical professionals and experts in your field, we would greatly appreciate your opinion on this matter," it added.

"We believe that the success of future generations of medical students depends on the fairness and transparency of the exam," AIJNSA added in the letter.

Also Read: No proposal from NMC, NTA to conduct NEET twice a year: MoS Health

While commenting on the matter, Himanshu Borah, the president of the association told Edex Live, “NEET is the only medical examination held in the country. Students who are aspiring to become a doctor receive only one chance to prove themselves. Previously there were other medical entrance examinations such as AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences), AIPMT (All India Pre Medical Test), JIPMER (Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research) etc. but from 2019 onwards they merged all the examinations into one – NEET."

The Daily adds that AIJNSA had filed a plea before the Delhi High Court in 2021 requesting to conduct NEET UG multiple times in subsequent years. However, the HC bench had ordered them to take the plea to the relevant authorities.

After this, petitions had been sent to Union Health Minister Shri Mansukh L Mandaviya, Education Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Dr Sandhya Bhullar, Secretary, National Medical Commission (NMC), and Dr Vineet Joshi, Director General, National Testing Agency (NTA).

Approaching the authorities, the association had pointed out that a single attempt was insufficient for students to showcase their potential. Apart from this, AIJNSA had also filed an RTI application and responding to this, NMC had clarified that they were not in favour of conducting NEET twice.

Recently, AIJNSA met with the Chhattisgarh Health Minister TS Singh Deo on May 5, 2023 and they further informed Edex Live about their plans to meet the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh as well. They have also arranged a meeting with the Deputy CM of Bihar, Tejashwi Yadav. In this way, the association is trying to reach out to Chief Ministers of various States to gather support for their cause. 

"The main reason why we are demanding this is because we have seen that there is a lot of mental pressure and anxiety amongst the students. We have done an All India survey with the help of various organisations and coaching centres. We circulated google forms and conducted the survey," Borah told the daily.

Adding that 85% of the students are suffering from extreme mental pressure, he further mentioned, "They have only one chance to crack the examination but for engineering students, JEE Mains are held twice a year and in 2021 it was held 4 times but conducting NEET only once is creating a havoc-like situation in the country."

He further added, “Several students are dropping out every year as the new medical colleges do not have proper instructors. They choose to again appear for NEET losing a year in the hope that they might get a better college the next time.”

The speculation regarding NEET being conducted twice a year has been going on for the last few years. Medical Dialogues had reported back in 2021 that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) had reportedly given its approval to hold NEET twice a year on the lines of JEE Mains. It was being speculated that this effect would come to pass from NEET 2021 itself.

However, in the recent reply before the Lok Sabha, the Union MoS Health Dr. Bharati Pravin has dismissed all such speculations regarding NEET being held two times every year.

The clarification came from the Union Minister of State for Health while she was responding to a series of questions related to NEET, raised by MP Shri Ramesh Chand Bind. Referring to the stress and depression suffered by the NEET aspirants who are finding it difficult to clear NEET in a single attempt, Minister Bind had questioned the Union Health Ministry if there is any proposal on the part of the Government to conduct NEET UG Examination twice a year on the pattern of JEE (Mains).

"National Medical Commission (NMC) & National Testing Agency (NTA) have informed that there is no proposal to conduct NEET UG exams for providing two chances in a year," clarified the MoS Health.

Also Read: No proposal from NTA, NMC to conduct NEET twice a year: Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar informs the Lok Sabha