Case to Remove Upper Age Limit for NEET Exam, Deferred

Case to Remove Upper Age Limit for NEET Exam, Deferred

The Hon’ble Supreme Court has adjourned the matter regarding the upper age limit of candidates in the NEET Exam. The official confirmation was made by student activist Dr. Amit Kumar, who was the one advocating for the removal of the age bar in the NEET. He confirmed that the matter has been adjourned for March.

Things Leading Up to This

Currently, the maximum age limit for applying for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test is 25 Years (30 years for the Reserved Category candidates). This limit was set by the CBSE in 2017, a time when it was in charge of conducting the NEET Exam. Another limit that was set by the CBSE during that time was on the number of candidates, which was 3.

This matter was heard in the High Court, which upheld the maximum age limit to 25 years for the unreserved ad 30 years for the SC/ST/OBC candidates. It was then taken to the Apex Court where it has been pending since 2018.

The MCI and later its replacement the NMC had earlier justified the upper age limit at 25 years, saying that it was important for the ‘sharp young minds’ to study medicine and enter the field as soon as possible.

However, a recent interim order had made all the candidates eligible for this exam irrespective of the age bar.

What Happened in 2022?

The petition once again came up for hearing on January 31st, 2022, with Amit Kumar fighting the case for Dr. Gupta representing the student interests. The latter, through Twitter, assured the students not to worry.

He stated that at present, everyone is eligible for the NEET Exam, and through this case, he plans on convincing the court to keep things this way.

“Everything will be Okay” was what he exactly said.

Even after the matter was adjourned for March, asked them to concentrate on their studies instead of taking unnecessary stress, and assured students that the government will roll back the rule pertaining to the age limit. 

What Next?

The matter regarding the Upper Age Limit shall be next heard in the Supreme Court on 15th March 2022.

However, some latest reports state that the UG Medical Board of the NMC is possibly considering making changes in the eligibility criteria for NEET, primarily removing the maximum age limit. This report comes after a paper released UGMEB titled “Seeking graduation in medical colleges outside India: Is it a ‘win-win’ or ‘lose-lose’ situation for the stakeholders and the nation”

This consideration is possibly after keeping in mind the candidates coming from low-income families, and more and more students moving for MBBS abroad. Also, with the age limit and that on the number of attempts removed, candidates can continue to appear for the NEET and pursue medical education at their own convenience. 

This is all that we have currently have regarding this issue. For further updates on the various medical, management, and engineering exams for India and abroad, keep following us at https://www.mbbsadmissionabroad.in/news