Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced on Saturday that the National Board of Examinations (NBE) will release the new schedule for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Post Graduate (NEET-PG) within the next two days. NEET-PG was among the exams cancelled last week as a pre-emptive measure amidst concerns over alleged irregularities in competitive tests.
Speaking to reporters in Panchkula on the sidelines of Haryana BJP’s extended state executive meeting, Pradhan stated, “The date of National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, Post Graduate will be announced by the NBE in one or two days.”
This announcement follows the National Testing Agency (NTA)’s revision of dates for three other exams that were also cancelled due to similar concerns. The University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET), initially conducted on June 18th, was cancelled due to concerns about exam integrity and will now be held from August 21st to September 4th.
The rescheduled UGC-NET will revert to the Computer Based Test (CBT) format, unlike the offline single-day exam conducted previously. The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) UGC-NET, initially postponed due to the alleged irregularities, will now be conducted from July 25th to July 27th. The CSIR UGC-NET is accepted for PhD admissions in various science fields, including Chemical Sciences, Earth Sciences, Life Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, and Physical Sciences.
The National Common Entrance Test (NCET) for admission to the four-year Integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP), originally scheduled for June 12th, was postponed and will now be held on July 10th. The NCET is administered for select central and state universities, including IITs, NITs, RIEs, and government colleges.
In light of the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG and PhD entrance NET, the Centre last week established a panel to ensure transparent, smooth, and fair conduct of examinations through the NTA.
