CBSE to make NEET admit cards available on April 22

CBSE to make NEET admit cards available on April 22

NASHIK: Many candidates awaiting their admit cards for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Neet) 2017 were left confused on Sunday. The online admit cards were not accessible 24 hours after the pre-declared schedule. According to the Neet schedule, online admit cards were to be made available for download on April 15. On Sunday, however, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) made it clear that in view of the Supreme Court's recent orders to accept applications of candidates above 25 years of age, admit cards will now be made available on April 22.

Neet applicant Aditi Sathe, said, "We were earlier told that the admit cards will be available from April 15. When I was unable to find my admit card, I called my friends and asked them about the issue. As nobody was able to access the admit cards, we assumed there may be some internal problem."

Aditya Oke, director of a leading Neet coaching centre in Nashik, said more aspirants have enrolled themselves for the exam this year. "The CBSE has also increased the number of exam centres to accommodate the candidates. My suggestion to students wil be that they should not waste their time searching for their admit cards. They should focus on their studies as the cards will be available well before the exam," he said.

CBSE is the educational board responsible for conducting Neet for getting admitted to the MBBS and BDS courses. Qualified candidates will be able to get admitted to various medical and dental colleges after attempting the entrance exam. Neet is to be held across India on May 7. The admit card will act as a permission letter at the exam venue as authorities will only allow candidates with admit cards to enter the venue.

Over 8.02 lakh candidates registered for Neet in 2016. The number has increased to 11.35 lakh this year, recording a rise of 41%. While the CBSE is yet to confirm the official figure of aspirants from Nashik division, the figure is likely to touch the 50,000 mark.

This year, Neet will replace the state's Common Entrance Test (CET). Over 2.5 lakh students are expected to appear for the exam in Maharashtra. Until last year, only 20-25% students from the state used to give the earlier All India Pre Medical/Pre Dental Test (AIPMT).