JEE Main-NEET Merge: UGC proposes conducting single exam in place of JEE, NEET for engineering and medical admission

UGC Chairman, Professor M Jagadesh Kumar said that the commission is working on a proposal that would integrate the separate entrance examinations for medical and engineering into the CUET. 

JEE Main-NEET merge

The University Grants Commission has sent a proposal to the centre and other stakeholders to integrate the engineering and medical entrances and conduct a single exam like CUET for admission to engineering and medical courses across the country. As per the latest media reports, the higher education regulator UGC has set up a committee to explore ways to combine the entrance tests and an exam like CUET twice a year in place of JEE Main and NEET.

"UGC chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar said that bringing JEE Main and NEET under the larger umbrella of CUET will reduce the burden on students, adding that the idea is in tune with the National Education Policy, 2020".

Currently, JEE Main is conducted for admission to engineering institutes in the country and NEET is the entrance test for all undergraduate medical programs. Central University Common Entrance Test or CUET has been introduced this year as a single entrance exam for admission to UG programs offered by various central universities in the country.

UGC Chairman said, “With the introduction of CUET this year, students have three major entrance examinations- NEET, JEE and CUET. Most students take at least two of these examinations, and many even write all three. In NEET, students appear in Biology, Physics and Chemistry while in JEE, students have to take Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry. As two subjects are common in JEE Main and NEET and the same subjects are also used in CUET for admission in various universities, conducting a single exam will do away with the need for multiple entrance examinations”.

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Why a single exam in place of JEE Mains and NEET

The objective of the proposal is that students should not undergo the stress of appearing in multiple entrance exams while they’re being tested in the same set of subjects. As per the proposal, only one entrance examination for all the JEE, NEET and CUET will be conducted in CBT mode, twice a year. If accepted, students might have the chance of appearing for the examination once after the board exams say May-June and another in December. The decision on is JEE and NEET going to merge will be finalized soon.

Is the plan to merge JEE Main and NEET Final?

The UGC chairperson has clarified that the idea of NEET and JEE merge into CUET has not been finalized yet. A proposal has been sent to the National Testing Agency (NTA) and all concerned stakeholders. First, the UGC will form an expert committee to examine the existing entrance examination processes. They will also look at the possibility of an integrated, one single CUET and come up with recommendations. Then, these recommendations will be put up for stakeholders’ feedback and based on the feedback the recommendation will be finalized. The final decision of "Will JEE Main NEET merge into CUET will be finalized soon.

Syllabus for the combined entrance test

The detailed syllabus for the common exam will be finalized before the start of the test. As per the proposal, the syllabus for the common entrance test will be as per the NCERT syllabus. The NTA will be instructed to strictly adhere to the class 12 syllabus for all disciplines, including the subjects related to JEE and NEET.

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