15.93L students to compete for 76K UG medical, dental seats
- 2020-01-14
- https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/15-93l-students-to-compete-for-76k-ug-medical-dental-seats/story-eDREchLA4wsd05rtZuPXPN.html
An average of 20 candidates will compete for each seat at undergraduate medical institutes in the country this year. According to registration figures released by the National Testing Agency (NTA), over 15.93 lakh students have registered for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET). The number stood at 15.19 lakh in 2019.
While total registrations went up by 74,000 (4.7%) this year, the good news is that the total intake capacity of MBBS colleges too has gone up by 9,900 (13.7%).
“After NEET was introduced in 2016, many students ended up giving the exam two years in a row to better their scores and it looks like finally, the number of candidates is streamlining. The competition, however, is still going to be tough,” said Jayanti Pal, a parent.
Like in years before, the maximum registrations for NEET-UG have come from Maharashtra where 2.28 lakh students will appear for the entrance exam on May 3, 2020, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, with 1.54 lakh and 1.38 lakh students, respectively. Among other states with a high number of registrations, 1.19 lakh students are from Karnataka and 1.16 lakh students are from Kerala.
Medical admissions have seen many changes in procedures over the past few years, starting from May 2013 when the NEET exam was held for the first time for admissions to medical and dental courses. The same exam was duly scrapped by the Supreme Court in September 2013, forcing state governments to conduct their own entrance exam for health science aspirants (based on the syllabus of the Central Board of Secondary Education).
In 2015, Maharashtra government conducted the Common Entrance Test (CET), based on the state board syllabus, but this was again changed in 2016 when the SC reinforced that there should be a single-window entrance examination for admission to all medical and dental institutes in the country. While in 2016, state governments were allowed to conduct CETs for admissions to state-run institutes, SC made it clear that from 2017, NEET would be the only exam applicable for admissions to medical and dental colleges. “With engineering courses attracting fewer students year after year, medical seats are more in demand. The good news is that the medical and dental councils are taking cognizance of this demand and approving more medical seats across the country,” said an official from the state’s Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER).
