From 2013, aspiring doctors will have to appear for one entrance test for admission to medical colleges across the country. The new common medical entrance test will be called the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET). “There will be one combined test for undergraduate medical/dental courses, except for statutory bodies such as the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER). After clearing the test, candidates will get two ranks – an all-India rank and a state rank. NEET replaces the All-India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT) and the state PMTs,” says an official from the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). NEET has been proposed for undergraduate medical courses such as MBBS and BDS and postgraduate medical courses like MS and MD.
All MBBS entrance exams being organised individually by state or colleges (eg Armed Forces Medical College exam, Delhi-PMT, UP-CPMT, Rajasthan-PMT, etc) will now be replaced by NEET.
However, it is still not clear whether NEET will be adopted for admission to other allied medical courses viz veterinary, agriculture, horticulture, nursing courses etc.
The format
The paper-pencil test, proposed to be conducted on May 5, 2013, will have 180 objective-type questions, with 45 questions each from physics, chemistry, botany and zoology, based on the syllabus notified by the Medical Council of India. It will be three hours long and will have 1/4th negative marking.
Says Aakash Chaudhry, director of the coaching institute, Aakash, “Students can expect the subject/section-wise question distribution similar to the last AIPMT prelim exam conducted in 2012.”
What you should do
As the exam is being conducted by CBSE, thorough reading of the NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training) textbooks is must. “The content of NCERT books should be read completely and figures given should be understood minutely. Students must solve the exercises given in the NCERT books,” says Chaudhry. “NEET will have 180 questions to be solved in three hours so students should practice time management by writing mock tests. They would be required to solve each question in a minute, so practising 15-20 full length tests before taking the actual exam would help,” he adds. There are some differences in the CBSE syllabus for Class 11 and 12 compared to NEET so a close comparison of syllabi must be done. Reading through the previous years’ AIPMT papers will also help as NEET is expected to be of the same level.
Colleges participating in NEET
A total of 271 MBBS colleges have been listed by MCI, which will accept NEET 2013 scores. These colleges will offer a total of 31,000 MBBS seats across India. Till now, admission to these colleges was done on the basis of several national and state level entrance tests.
What you should do
As the exam is being conducted by CBSE, thorough reading of the NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training) textbooks is must. “The content of NCERT books should be read completely and figures given should be understood minutely. Students must solve the exercises given in the NCERT books,” says Chaudhry. “NEET will have 180 questions to be solved in three hours so students should practice time management by writing mock tests. They would be required to solve each question in a minute, so practising 15-20 full length tests before taking the actual exam would help,” he adds. There are some differences in the CBSE syllabus for Class 11 and 12 compared to NEET so a close comparison of syllabi must be done. Reading through the previous years’ AIPMT papers will also help as NEET is expected to be of the same level.
Colleges participating in NEET
A total of 271 MBBS colleges have been listed by MCI, which will accept NEET 2013 scores. These colleges will offer a total of 31,000 MBBS seats across India. Till now, admission to these colleges was done on the basis of several national and state level entrance tests.
Prescribed topics
Physics: Work, energy and power; gravitation; properties of bulk matter; thermodynamics; behaviour of perfect gas and kinetic theory; oscillations and waves; electrostatics; current electricity; magnetic effects of current and magnetism; electromagnetic induction and alternating currents; optics
Chemistry: Structure of atom; chemical bonding and molecular structure; equilibrium; organic chemistry - some basic principles and techniques; hydrocarbons; coordination compounds; biomolecules; polymers; surface chemistry
Biology: Structural organisation in animals and plants; cell structure and function; human physiology; genetics and evolution; biology and human welfare; biotechnology and its applications; ecology and environment
The list is indicative