NEET to be held in 4 more cities in Maharashtra

Keeping in mind a 41.4% increase in the number of students registering for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) compared to last year, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has decided to increase the number of examination centres in the country.

Keeping in mind a 41.4% increase in the number of students registering for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) compared to last year, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has added 23 more cities, including four in Maharashtra, to conduct the test in the country. This takes the total number of cities to 103 in the country, and 10 in the state, the CBSE said in a circular on Thursday.

The medical entrance exam will be held on May 7 this year.

The medical entrance exam will be held on May 7 this year.

Apart form Aurangabad, Mumbai, Nagpur, Nasik, Pune and Thane, Maharashtra will also have centres in Ahmednagar, Amravati, Kolhapur and Satara. The total count makes Maharashtra the state with the highest number of centres in the country.

Earlier this month, some student activists had also written to state medical education minister Girish Mahajan, demanding for more examination centres in the state.

“Against 8.02 applications for NEET I & II last year, 11.35 lakh students, the highest so far, have registered this year. Looking at the substantial increase in numbers, the ministry of Human Resource and Development has desired to increase 23 more examination cities to the list,” states the latest circular released on www.cbseneet.nic.in.

Many students across the country had demanded for more examination cities, especially in Maharashtra, since all health science aspirants will have to appear for NEET examinations this. The state government had scrapped the Common Entrance Test (CET). “Without this move, students form rural Maharashtra will end up travelling large distances to appear for the test. This move will be of help to many students,” said Mayuresh Chitre, parent of a NEET aspirant.