NEETUG trends as Students demand Medical Exam to be Deferred
For almost a week now, thousands of medical aspirants have taken the micro-blogging platform Twitter by storm, demanding the postponement of NEET 2021. The NEET Exam is a national-level entrance test conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) that was scheduled to take place on September 12, 2021. However, in an online poll conducted by Times Now, almost 88% of the respondents wanted the exam to be postponed.
Reasons for this Demand
One of the major reasons highlighted by the students is the NEET Exam clashing with other national and state-level exams being held in September. These include the MHT CET (Sept. 4-10 and Sept 14-20), ICAR (Sept 13), and ComedK (Sept. 14). Additionally, many students are planning to appear for their Class XII boards again as they aren’t satisfied with the marks allotted.
Several students have cited the requirement for more time as there has been an exam pattern change only 2 months before the exam. The new pattern was announced only in July 2021 as a result the students are demanding more time to adjust to this change.
Concerns have also been raised over the fact that not many students are fully vaccinated and therefore a postponement at least till next month is a viable alternative as the 3rd wave of Covid is imminent.
Demands have also come to extend the application window dates, keeping in mind the heavy rains and floods in states like West Bengal, Maharashtra, UP, MP, and Uttarakhand. This has hampered internet connectivity there and therefore a postponement would be the right step. This will also give time to students from remote areas to make preparations to reach their exam venue.
What the Experts Say
While students have cited the 3rd wave as a genuine reason to postpone the exam, experts on the other hand have used this reason to justify the exam date. They say that the NEET Exam needs to be conducted within the given time window before the 3rd wave further pushes back the date.
They further add that given the number of cases under control and people being vaccinated at an increasing rate, conducting the NEET Exam on the announced date is the best alternative. This statement by mathematician O.P.Gupta reflects the view of the experts.
“It is important to complete the admission cycle by December. As such, the examination must be conducted in time to ensure that all the process is complete. There is no reason for postponing the exam now. Only a select few students are appearing for the CBSE exams. That should not be a deterrent,”
Whatever the case may be, the student demands are in full swing with several hashtags trending on Twitter namely #shiftNEETUG #deferNEETUG #PleaseRescheduleNEETUG #PostponeNEETUG among others. Although the NTA has not conformed to the demand of the student, it has asked students to be patient and keep checking their official website neet.nta.nic.in.
Though the chances of postponement are slim (according to sources close to the NTA), we shall wait for an official statement from the NTA addressing this demand. Keep following Affinity Education for the latest updates in the field of education.
