Have no role in deciding eligibility for NEET, says CBSE; 43 new centres announced

The CBSE has clarified that it has no role in deciding eligibility criteria for medical entrance exam -- NEET -- and grievances, if any, should be submitted to the Medical Council of India (MCI). The clarification came following several complaints received by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) about barring open school candidates and those with biology as an additional subject in class 12 from appearing in the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET). This year, NEET will be held on May 6. Online application process began on February 8, and March 9 is the last date to register.

The last date for payment of exam fee online is March 10 till 11.50 PM. Meanwhile, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said this year, NEET will be conducted in 150 cities, as against 107 last year. Students who have pursued schooling through National Institute of Open Learning (NIOS)/ State Open School or those who studied biology or biotechnology as an additional subject in class 12 are ineligible to appear in NEET. The CBSE, in an advisory, said, "The responsibility of CBSE is limited to holding the NEET (UG) examination, based on the eligibility criteria provided by MCI. CBSE has no role to play in deciding the eligibility conditions." "Therefore, all the grievances received by CBSE on these issues are disposed of. Candidates are requested to kindly read the information bulletin and FAQs hosted on NEET website before sending grievance to the board in any form," it added. Tweeting about setting up of 43 new centres, Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said all the cities from where 4,000 and more candidates have applied and which were not exam centres in 2017 have been added as centre cities. The new centres have been set up in Andhra Pradesh (5), Assam (2), Gujarat (3), Maharashtra (6), Odisha (4), Tamil Nadu (2), Kerala (5), Telangana (2), West Bengal (3), Uttar Pradesh (3) and one new centre each in Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Karnataka and Uttarakhand.

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