NEET, MBBS exams postponed due to coronavirus outbreak

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has postponed the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for MBBS courses in view of the situations arising due to the spread of novel coronavirus in the country.

Notifying its decision on Friday, the testing agency proposed to reschedule the entrance test and conduct it in the last week of May.

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The exact date of the test, however, will be announced only after an assessment of the situation in the country, the testing agency added.

The nation-wide entrance test for admission to undergraduate MBBS courses was scheduled to be held on May 3.

“In view of the hardships faced by the parents and the students due to Covil-19 (novel coronavirus) pandemic, the NTA has postponed the ensuing NEET (UG) May 2020 examination scheduled to be held on May 3,” NTA Director-General Vineet Joshi said in a statement.

The decision to postpone NEET 2020 was taken by the NTA following a directive from the Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry.

“We are hopeful that we would get back to normal relatively soon. But for now, various ministries and examination boards are examining the scenario to evaluate the situation and that may necessitate any change in the schedule.” Joshi said

With the postponement of the entrance test, the admit cards for the examination, which were to be issued on March 27, will now be issued later after based on the assessment of the situation after April 15 only.

“NTA would expect students and parents to not worry about the examination. Moreover, parents are requested to help young students utilize this time for preparing for the examination and focus on critical concepts I order to close learning gaps if any,” Joshi said.