look news india
There is going to be a huge and revolutionary change in the history of Indian education system and medical entrance examinations, which is going to directly affect the future of millions of medical students of the country. For the last few years, there was a continuous discussion going on regarding the pattern of National Eligibility cum Entrance Test i.e. NEET (NEET-UG) and school board examinations, and now preparations have been made to make the entire system of admission to medical courses (MBBS-BDS) completely modern and transparent from the year 2027. The main objective of these new steps being taken by the government and the National Testing Agency (NTA) is to prevent irregularities in the examination and to reduce the pressure of a single examination on students, due to which discussions have intensified in coaching institutes and educational circles across the country.
Digital changes and CBT mode in NEET exam system
From the coming year 2027, there will be a historic change in the methods of the country’s biggest medical entrance exam NEET-OK (NEET-UG). Till now this examination was conducted offline on pen-paper mode i.e. OMR Sheet, but taking lessons from various incidents of paper leaks and other irregularities, the government has made up its mind to shift it completely to Computer-Based Test (CBT) i.e. digital format. Under this new digital change, students will have to read the questions on the computer screen at the examination center and choose the correct option using the mouse. Since the number of candidates appearing for this examination across the country is more than twenty-two lakh, the examination is likely to be conducted in several different shifts, thereby increasing the level of transparency and security to a great extent.
Increasing importance of board exams and new weighting system
In the field of medical admission, not only the entrance examination but also the pattern of school education i.e. 12th board examinations and their marks, a new equation is being considered. Academics and policy makers believe that the entire merit of a student should not be judged on the basis of just one day entrance examination, hence there is a serious push towards adding the marks of board examinations or a certain weightage of them in the medical admission merit list. With this change, students will take their school level studies and board exams as seriously as they do for entrance preparation by going to coaching institutes. This will reduce the tendency to memorize and promote concept clarity.
Consideration of the possibility of conducting examinations several times a year
To reduce the mental stress of students and to give them a better opportunity to improve their performance, a plan to conduct NEET exam more than once a year i.e. in the form of multiple attempts is also being considered. Just as the JEE Main exam for engineering is conducted twice a year, on the same lines, the proposal to conduct the medical entrance exam twice or more in a year can also be approved. If this system is implemented, then the students who fail in any one examination due to ill health or any other reason will be saved from wasting an entire year and they will be able to try to score better in the next stage as per their preparation.
New challenges of examination and impact on students’ strategy
After all these major changes, students preparing for medical admission will have to make major changes in their strategy. Due to shift from pen-paper to online i.e. CBT mode, students will have to pay special attention to time management, habit of reading on computer screen and online mock test practice. Coaching institutes have also started adapting the students to the digital format so that they do not have to face any kind of technical or mental discomfort during the main examination. Although these changes may cause some trouble to the students in the initial phase, but in the long run this system will prove to be a milestone in making the medical admission process of the country completely clean and corruption free.