Will NEET 2023 be Postponed by NTA? Know the chances here

NEET 2023 will be conducted on May 7. A number of aspirants are demanding for NEET 2023 exam postponement. But will NTA postpone the exam? Know the chances here.

NEET 2023 will be conducted on May 7. A number of aspirants are demanding for NEET 2023 exam postponement. According to them, there is less than a month left for the exam. Moreover, the Board exams concluded recently, making it difficult for students to prepare. Will NEET 2023 be postponed is a major question that is on top of their minds right now. Also, given the past few years’ instances, when the NEET exam date was postponed, aspirants are hopeful that their wish for NEET 2023 exam postponed might come true.

However, since the NEET 2023 application process has already concluded and the NEET 2023 admit card is expected soon, there is hardly any chance for NTA to postpone NEET UG 2023 at this stage. Moreover, despite multiple ongoing campaigns, NTA or the Ministry of Education have not responded or given any assurance to reschedule the exam beyond May 7. Hence, students and aspirants are advised to focus on NEET preparation rather than participate in the campaigns. 

Also Read: NEET 2023 Live Updates on Dress Code, Exam Timings & Latest Rules

NEET Exam Dates Postpone Trend

Ever since the pandemic struck the nation, not just NEET, the academic schedule across streams underwent massive upheaval. Needless to say, NEET exam dates were also postponed between 2020 and 2022. Let us assess the previous years’ NEET exam date originally announced vis-a-vis the actual date to predict the answer to the question, will NEET 2023 be postponed? The table below brings the original and postponed dates of NEET.

Year	Original Date	Postponed Date
NEET 2020	July 26, 2020	September 13, 2020
NEET 2021	August 1, 2021	September 12, 2021

As can be seen in the table above that the NEET 2022 date was not postponed. The notification had stated the original date to be July 17 and it was not postponed despite multiple requests and pleas by students and other stakeholders.

This year, NTA released a common calendar for the national-level undergraduate entrance exams such as NEET, JEE Main, CUET UG and ICAR AIEEA after assessing multiple factors to avoid clashes between the major exams. Moreover, the pandemic scenario is also under control in most parts of the country and across the world, making the chance of NEET 2023 postponed to be bleak. However, there are certain factors which may lead to NEET UG 2023 postponement. Let us assess all the factors in favour and against the exam date postponement.

Also Read: NEET UG 2023: Exam City Slips, Admit Card to release soon at neet.nta.nic.in

Reasons Why NEET 2023 May be Postponed

Here we list the reasons why NTA may postpone NEET 2023.

• Multiple requests from students: If there are several student representations or appeals with valid reasons, then NTA might reconsider postponing the NEET 2023 date. However, this would depend on the channel of communication. Merely posting on social media would not create much of a difference. Writing a proper application or letter by addressing the right person might make the authorities change their decision.

• Court order or Higher Authorities’ Intervention: In case Student Groups or Activists file a petition in the court which leads to a stay order in the exam, then the NEET 2023 exam will have to be postponed to a further date as per the court order. Moreover, in case there is an order or instruction from the Ministry of Education or Human Resource Development, then NTA would be bound to change the NEET UG exam date to a later date.

• External factors such as a surge in COVID-19 cases or natural calamity: Nobody can predict disastrous situations in advance. Even though the number of Covid cases has reduced a lot but the virus is still present. In case there is a surge in the number of cases, or certain parts of the country are affected by natural calamity or disaster, then NTA would have to postpone the NEET 2023 exam date.

• Clash with other entrance exams or Board exams: Although NTA has announced the major entrance exam dates in advance to avoid a clash, there are several other entrances conducted by other private universities, or Board exams, which may collide with NEET 2023. After assessing other factors, NTA may decide to change the exam date in order to avoid clashes with other exams.

• The application process has not commenced nor dates are announced: Given the fact that the NTA has not released the NEET 2023 application form or even announced the important dates apart from the exam date. If the application process does not begin by March, then there is a faint possibility of postponing the NEET UG 2023 exam date.

Note: The last two points were written prior to the release of the NEET 2023 application form, and are not applicable at this stage.

Reasons Why NEET 2023 May Not be Postponed

In this section, we bring the reasons which would prevent NTA from postponing the NEET 2023 exam date.

• Bring back normalcy in the academic calendar: The academic calendar went haywire in the last two to three years owing to the pandemic. In a bid to bring back to normalcy, NTA is endeavouring to schedule the NEET exam date similar to the pre-pandemic era. Hence, unless it is an emergency, NTA would stick to the original date.

• Advance announcement of date: NTA announced the exam date well in advance, approximately five months in advance. Hence, students have been intimated about the exam date much in advance to help them prepare accordingly.

• Avoiding the extra costs of logistics and other planning: The exam authorities have a lot of arrangements to make such as finalising the exam centres, setting and printing of question papers and several other logistic and administrative tasks. NEET 2023 postponement would impact all these activities and NTA would have to incur heavy losses. Hence, it is unlikely for NTA to postpone NEET 2023 exam date.

• Avoiding inconvenience to well-prepared students: While a particular section of students is demanding the postponement of the NEET 2023 exam, there are a lot of students who are well-prepared and are satisfied with the exam date as they feel confident about cracking the exam on the scheduled date. Hence, NTA would not like to disappoint those students.

Will NEET 2023 be postponed? Only time will answer this question. NEET 2023 application process concluded on April 15. NTA is expected to release the advance intimation of examination city slip followed by the NEET 2023 admit card by April-end and the first week of May respectively. The exam will be conducted on May 7, 2 PM to 5.20 PM in 499 cities across India and abroad. Over 20 lakh candidates have registered for the exam.  

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NEET UG 2023: Students Demand Exam Postponement