Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, on Tuesday, had confirmed that the Medical entrance exam (NEET) would be held on September 12, 2021 earlier. It was scheduled for August 1, 2021, but it was postponed by the National Testing Agency (NTA) due to increased COVID-19 cases. For the first time, Kuwait has been selected as a Medical entrance examination centre under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Ministry of Education.
The centres for the medical entrance examination NEET-UG, 2021, were increased from 155 to 198 to follow COVID-19 protocols and ensure the safety of applicants. Education Minister said that it is compulsory to maintain physical distancing at examination centres. Therefore the examination centres have also been increased from 3,862, as compared to 2020.
There are few changes brought by NTA in the Medical entrance examination exam pattern alongside internal choice questions. Human Resource Development Secretary Amit Khare wrote a letter to Foreign Secretary, Ministry for External Affairs. He mentioned that NTA has decided to add one more centre in Dubai and Kuwait for Medical Entrance Examination. He also said that the Indian community staying in Gulf would be informed about the Ministry of Education’s decision in advance.
It could be grateful if Indian embassies in Kuwait and Dubai extend their cooperation to the NTA for conducting Medical Entrance exam NEET- UG in a fair and secured manner, said Amit Khare.
This year, the Medical entrance examination NEET-UG will be conducted in thirteen languages, said Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Earlier it was held in Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Odia, Gujarati, Marathi, Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Urdu and English; Punjabi and Malayalam are new additions. Ministry of Education has informed that to facilitate the Indian student community within the middle-East, the examination centre for NEET-UG has been set up in Kuwait.
Indian students, teachers and parents in Kuwait greeted the Indian Government’s decision of opening a new Medical entrance examination centre in Kuwait with joy and relief. It was difficult for Hundreds of Thousands of Indian students to visit India to write various entrance exams during the COVID pandemic. Grace Thomas, an Indian teacher, said that it’s a landmark decision for the Indian community in Kuwait and that too in such a critical situation. He thanked the ambassador for his efforts.
Ministry of health and family welfare of India, since 2019, has made it mandatory for students to clear the NEET exam, it’s the entry examination for undergraduate medical education in India, as it is required to seek medical education abroad. Riyaz Ahmad, father of a student who completed her 12th grade this year, said that they are very thankful and relieved with the decision.
Earlier in 2020, the NEET-UG exam was conducted on September 13, after following all the COVID-19 protocols amid the coronavirus pandemic. There were 13.66 lakh candidates who had appeared for the NEET-UG exam, out of whom 7,71,500 were qualified.
On July 13, 2021 the Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had tweeted about the registration process for the NEET-UG exam and informed that the Embassy of India has decided to add an examination centre in Kuwait and Dubai.
Registrations for the NEET(UG) 2021 has started on https://t.co/OdWUKVfCC2 from 5:00 pm today. For the first time in the history of NEET(UG) exam and in order to facilitate the Indian student community in the middle east, an examination centre has been opened in Kuwait.
— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) July 13, 2021
