NEET attempts limited at 3; age cap introduced

Candidates also have to fulfill a new age criterion for the medical and dental entrance exam

UGC announced that the minimum age limit for NEET candidates will be 17 years, while the maximum will be 25 years for unreserved candidates.

Eligible medical aspirants across India can attempt the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for maximum three times. They also have to fulfill a new age criterion for the medical and dental entrance exam. 

The decision to introduce a cap on attempts to appear for the test and introduce an upper age limit was taken during a meeting conducted by University Grants Commission (UGC) in Delhi on January 24, 2017. The official notification will be available before January 31, 2017 at AIPMT NEET 2017 official website aipmt.nic.in. The NEET information brochures contain the information and will also be distributed soon. 

The maximum age limit to appear for NEET for unreserved candidates will be 25 years, while the minimum age will be 17 years. The maximum age for the schedule caste/ schedule tribe/ other backward category students will be 30 years. 

Why the limit?

The move has taken many by surprise since hitherto UGC has never specified a maximum age to take NEET. There has also never been a limit on the number of attempts. According to media reports, the cap has been introduced to discourage candidates who keep trying their luck at the examination. The decision will force such individuals to focus on the field where their capability and passion lie, predict the reports.

Informed sources have also indicated that several mushrooming coaching classes often field candidates and faculty to understand NEET’s alternating pattern. There have been incidents recorded where such candidates have facilitate the transmission of answers to the aspirants during the examination. The rule would also discourage such fraudulent behavior. 

Through studies conducted by Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER), it was observed that in Maharashtra, the number of older candidates competing with younger aspirants has been rising with each passing year. In 2007, about 12,000 repeat aspirants took the CET, and in 2008, the number grew to 13,568. The oldest candidate was 38 years old and at least another 100 aspirants were in their early 30s.

About NEET 

National level entrance test, NEET is conducted for admissions into 15% seats in Medical and Dental courses in government or private medical colleges across the country, except in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana. The total numbers of seats offered under NEET are 53,430.

Candidates will be called for seats counseling, based on the merit list and cut off. After the counselling session, candidates will be allotted the seat based on their rank/merit.