“No Upper Age Limit for NEET Exam”; Confirms NMC to the SC

“No Upper Age Limit for NEET Exam”; Confirms NMC to the SC

Good News for NEET aspirants!

The National Medical Commission has officially confirmed before the Supreme Court that there is NO AGE LIMIT for appearing in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET Exam).

With this submission by the NMC’s counsel Senior Adv. Vikas Singh, the Apex Court dismissed the Special Leave Petition that was filed challenging an earlier order of the Delhi High Court that demanded the upholding of the age bar.

History of this Issue

Back in 2017, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) was the then conducting authority of the NEET Exam. It was here that an upper age limit was introduced for the first time. The upper age limit for the aspirants was decided to be 25 years, which was eventually challenged in the Supreme Court in 2018.

The points made against the upper age limit was that such a restriction worked in the case of the NEET predecessor i.e. the AIPMT Exam that only covered around 15% of the total medical seats. Compared to this, the NEET Exam was a pan-Indian exam as a result, women and children from underprivileged backgrounds also appear for it. They may not have the luxury to dedicate themselves to exams and studies before 25 years of age.

The Supreme Court in 2018 granted “provisional permission” to individuals above 25 years of age, to appear for the NEET Exam.

Then after more than a couple of years i.e. on 4th October 2021, the NMC held a meeting where the provision of removal of age limit was discussed.

Developments on the Same in 2022

Earlier this year, Dr. Pulkesh Kumar (Secretary, NMC) officially announced that the 25-year age limit for General and 30-year age limit for the Reserved category students shall no longer apply. This was confirmed on Twitter by Union Education Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.

“Good news for the aspirants of NEET-UG! The National Medical Commission removes the fixed upper age limit for appearing in the NEET-UG examination. The decision will immensely benefit aspiring doctors and further help in strengthening medical education in the country,” - said his statement

Thus, Dr. Kumar had requested Dr.Devvrat (Senior Director, NTA) to make the necessary changes in the Regulations on Graduate Medical Education (1997) and also modify the Information Bulletin accordingly.

This brings us to the final confirmation made by the NMC yesterday in the Supreme Court that the upper age limit remains suspended.

The Apex court also considered other issues like those of candidates passing out from “Open Schools” as well as non-Biology students. More on that will be known in the future.

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