Centre mulls holding NEET-UG exam in online mode

The Centre also said the prices of the National Council of Educational Research and Training’s textbooks for some classes will be reduced from next academic year

The Union government is trying the possibilities of holding the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG) for admission to undergraduate medical education in all medical institutions, presently held in offline mode, in online mode. Talking to reporters on the education sector in the country in New Delhi on Tuesday, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said his Ministry will take a decision in this regard soon.

The NEET-UG is administered by the Union Health Ministry and it is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), an arm under the Union Education Ministry. Mr. Pradhan said his Ministry had two rounds of discussions with the Health Ministry on the matter. “The administrative ministry of NEET is Health Ministry and hence we are in talks with them about whether NEET should be conducted in pen and paper mode or online mode. We have had two rounds of talks with Health Ministry led by J.P. Nadda. Whatever option will be considered best suited for conducting the exam, the NTA is ready to undertake the exercise,” Mr. Pradhan said. More than 24 lakh students had appeared for NEET-UG in 2024.

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Mr. Pradhan added that the reforms in this examination will be implemented in the 2025. “What will be NEET’s methodology, what will be the protocol...a decision is expected soon. We will notify it soon,” he added.

Textbooks to cost less  

Mr. Pradhan said the prices of National Council of Educational Research and Training’s (NCERT) textbooks for some classes will be reduced from next academic year. The NCERT, which currently prints five crore textbooks a year, is working to augment capacity to 15 crore from next year,” he said adding that for classes nine to 12, new textbooks prepared based on updated curriculum will be made available from the 2026-27 academic session.

“Earlier, there were concerns about demand and supply about the textbooks. However, that will be addressed now,” Mr. Pradhan added. He said since the volume of printing of books is going to be high, the prices of textbooks for some classes will be reduced. “However, the price will not be increased for any class to ensure there is no financial burden on parents,” he added.

He said new textbooks have been made available for seven out of 15 grades, with textbooks coming out for four more grades in the next academic year. “Textbooks for arts, physical education, and well-being [classes three-eight] and vocational education [classes six-eight] are being developed. Textbooks are being prepared in all scheduled Indian languages and made accessible via online platforms,” the Minister said.

Published - December 17, 2024 10:37 pm IST