NEET-UG will continue to be conducted in pen and paper mode: NTA
New Delhi, Jan 16 (PTI): The Centre has decided against conducting the medical entrance exam NEET-UG in online mode for now, and announced on Thursday it will continue to be conducted in pen and paper mode.
The decision comes after detailed deliberations between education and health ministries on whether to conduct the NEET-UG in pen and paper mode or online mode.
"As decided by the National Medical Commission(NMC), the NEET-UG shall be conducted in Pen and paper mode (OMR based) in a single day and shift," a senior National Testing Agency (NTA) official said on Thursday.
The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) is the largest entrance exam in the country in terms of number of candidates appearing for the test. In 2024, a record more than 24 lakh candidates took the exam.
The NTA conducts the NEET every year for admission into medical colleges. A total of 1,08,000 seats are available for MBSS course.
Of the seats available for the MBBS course, approximately 56,000 are in government hospitals and about 52,000 in private colleges. Admissions to undergraduate courses in Dentistry, Ayurveda, Unani, and Siddha also utilise the results of the NEET for admission.
The idea of switching to Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode for NEET is not new and has been deliberated several times before. However, the push for the exam reforms came following the paper leak controversy last year.
In the line of fire over alleged irregularities in NEET and PhD entrance NET, the Centre had in July set up the panel to ensure transparent, smooth and fair conduct of examinations by NTA.
According to the high-level panel headed by former ISRO Chief R Radhakrishnan, multi-stage testing for NEET-UG could be a viable possibility that needs to be followed up.
While NEET was under the scanner over several irregularities, including alleged leaks, UGC-NET was cancelled last year as the ministry received inputs that the integrity of the exam had been compromised. Both matters are being probed by the CBI.
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Massive turnout in assembly polls across states, women voters outnumber men: EC data
New Delhi (PTI): The recently-concluded assembly elections witnessed exceptionally high voter participation across states, with women voters outnumbering men in turnout percentages, according to Election Commission data.
West Bengal recorded the highest voter turnout among states, with 93.71 per cent polling in 293 constituencies where counting has been completed. The state saw over 6.38 crore votes cast, including postal ballots, against a total of more than 6.81 crore electors.
Women voters recorded a turnout of 93.8 per cent in the West Bengal Assembly polls, slightly higher than the 92.06 per cent participation among men.
The data for West Bengal does not include the figures for the Falta assembly constituency, which is scheduled for repolling.
Tamil Nadu registered an 85.01 per cent turnout, with nearly 4.8 crore votes polled from an electorate of 5.74 crore. Women voters recorded a turnout of 86.2 per cent, higher than the 83.77 per cent among men.
Assam also witnessed robust participation, with the final turnout touching 85.74 per cent. More than 2.15 crore votes were cast in the state, while female turnout at 86.53 per cent marginally exceeded the 84.95 per cent recorded among male voters.
Kerala registered a turnout of 78.11 per cent, with over 2.12 crore votes polled. Female voter participation stood at 81.17 per cent against 74.9 per cent among men.
Puducherry recorded a turnout of 89.82 per cent, with women voters again leading participation at 91.39 per cent. More than 8.5 lakh votes were polled in the Union territory.
Yet, women's representation among elected candidates remained modest.
Tamil Nadu elected 23 women MLAs (9.83 per cent) out of 234 members, West Bengal elected 37 women legislators (12.62 per cent) out of 293, while Kerala returned only 11 women MLAs (7.85 per cent) in the 140-member House.
Only two third-gender candidates contested the elections - one each from Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and both lost, forfeiting their deposits.
The elections also reflected extensive electoral mobilisation infrastructure. West Bengal had the highest number of polling stations at 85,092, followed by Tamil Nadu with 75,064 and Assam with 31,490.
In terms of candidates, Tamil Nadu saw the largest contest with 4,023 candidates in the fray across 234 constituencies, averaging 17 candidates per seat and peaking at 79 contestants in one constituency.
West Bengal pitted 2,920 candidates for 293 constituencies, while Kerala had the fewest contestants among the major states, with 883 candidates for 140 seats.
The data also showed relatively low NOTA votes across states. Tamil Nadu recorded the lowest NOTA share at 0.4 per cent of total votes polled, while Assam recorded the highest at 1.23 per cent. In West Bengal, 0.78 per cent of the total votes polled were NOTA, while it 0.77 per cent and 0.57 per cent of the electorate opted for None of the Above (NOTA) in Puducherry and Kerala, respectively.
