With the introduction of NTA, NEET – the national level medical entrance exam – and JEE – national level engineering entrance exam – might be conducted twice a year to give an opportunity to the students to bring out their best performance. this was informed by Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development (HRD) Upendra Kushwaha in Lok Sabha.
The Centre is setting up a National Testing Agency (NTA), an autonomous and self-sustained premier testing organisation, to conduct the entrance exams for the higher educational institutions. This was said by minister Kushwaha in response to a written question in the Lower House of Parliament.
THE BENEFIT
According to a statement from union government, establishment of NTA will benefit about 40 lakh students appearing in various entrance examinations. It will relieve CBSE, AICTE and other agencies from responsibility of conducting these entrance examinations, and also bring in high reliability, standardized difficulty level for assessing the aptitude, intelligence and problem solving abilities of the students.
“The NTA will initially conduct those entrance exams which are held by the CBSE. The exams will be conducted online at least twice a year, thereby giving an adequate opportunity to the candidates to bring out their best,” Mr Kushwaha told Lok Sabha.
WHAT ARE NEET, JEE
The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) is held for admission to medical and dental colleges while Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) is conducted for admission to engineering colleges. Currently both the exams – along with several other exams- are organised by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).
The CBSE had earlier conveyed its inhibitions to the HRD ministry about conducting the exams in future, saying they are overburdened with the massive exercise.
