On 7 July 2018, MHRD minister Prakash Javadekar, at a press conference announced that National Testing Agency (NTA) will be conducting NEET, JEE Main, CMAT, GPAT and NET. He also notified that both JEE Main and NEET will be conducted twice a year. All the exams will be held in a computer-based mode only. There are no changes in all the exams regarding the syllabus, the number of questions, fees and language. All the changes are made to uplift the standards of the examination.
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When will NTA conduct the exams?
At the press conference, Prakash Javadekar cleared that both NEET and JEE Main will be held twice a year. No concrete dates are available for the conduct of the exam. Check the table below to know about the tentative dates of NTA exams 2018 -
|
UGC NET |
|
|
UGC NET Application Process |
Month of September 2018 |
|
UGC NET Exam Date |
First week to third week of December 2018 |
|
UGC NET Result |
Last week of January 2019 |
|
JEE Main I |
|
|
JEE Main Registration Process |
Month of September 2018 |
|
JEE Main Exam Date |
First week to last week of January 2019 |
|
JEE Main Result |
First week of February 2019 |
|
NEET UG I |
|
|
NEET Application Process |
Month of October 2018 |
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NEET Exam Date |
First week to third week of February 2019 |
|
NEET Result |
First week of March 2019 |
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JEE Main II |
|
|
JEE Main Registration |
Second week of February 2019 |
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JEE Main Exam Date |
First week to last week of April 2019 |
|
JEE Main Result |
First week of May 2019 |
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NEET UG II |
|
|
NEET Application Process |
Second week of March 2019 |
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NEET Exam Date |
Second week till last week of May 2019 |
|
NEET Result |
First week of June 2019 |
The application process of CMAT and GPAT will commence from last week of October 2018 and will conclude by the third week of December 2018. The entrance test will be held on the last week of January while the result will be announced by the first week of February 2019.
How many exams are under NTA?
Till now, there are a total of five exams that will be conducted by the National Testing Agency. The list of exams are given below -
- National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET)
- Joint Entrance Examination (JEE Main)
- Common Management Aptitude Test (CMAT)
- Graduate Pharmacy Aptitude Test (GPAT)
- UGC National Eligibility Test (NET)
What are the changes introduced by NTA?
All the examinations will be held in a computer-based mode to conduct it more smoothly and efficiently. Exams like JEE Main and NEET UG will be held twice a year since the number of applicants is more than compared to other entrance exams held in India. The exams will be held in different slots, which will extend up to four to five days accommodating around 2 lakhs each day.
How many times can a student appear for JEE Main and NEET?
Students can appear for both the sessions of NEET or JEE Main. Their best score in the two sessions will be considered for admission.
How many students appear for these exams?
The total number of students that appear for the exams to be conducted by NTA are –
- NEET UG 2018 - 13,26,725
- JEE Main 2018 – 11,35,084
- CMAT 2018 – 1 lakh approx.
- GPAT 2018 – 40,000 approx
- UGC NET – 12 lakhs approx.
What benefits for students does NTA bring?
Conducting the entrance exam in a computer-based mode is a big step to eliminate the wrong practices. Also, practice centres will be set for candidates who don’t have computers or laptops to practice for the computer-based test.
Students will be able to appear for both the sessions and their best scores will be considered during the admission process.
With the increase in the number of exam slots, candidates won’t have to travel to far places to sit in the exam.
