The NEET medical entrance exam saw 95% attendance on Sunday, National Testing Agency (NTA) informed. As many as 18,72,329 candidates (of which 10.64 lakh were women) had registered for the exams this year, which had received the highest number of applications ever.
“About 95 per cent attendance was recorded today,” a senior NTA official said. For the first time, over 18 lakh candidates registered for the exam, a considerable increase of over 2.5 lakh from last year. In 2021, over 15.44 lakh candidates appeared for the exam, which was conducted at 3,858 centres. Of these, at least 8.70 lakh students had qualified.
NEET-UG is the qualifying entrance exam for admission to Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS), Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS), Bachelor of Ayurveda, Medicine and Surgery (BAMS), Bachelor of Siddha Medicine and Surgery (BSMS), Bachelor of Unani Medicine and Surgery (BUMS), and Bachelor of Homeopathic Medicine and Surgery (BHMS) and BSc(H) Nursing courses.
The exam was conducted at 3,570 centres in 497 cities, including 14 cities (Colombo, Kathmandu, Bangkok, Kuala Lampur, Singapore, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Sharjah, Kuwait City, Doha, Manama, Riyadh, Lagos) outside India on Sunday in 'pen and paper' mode.
A large number of aspirational districts were also added for the first time this year.
"The number of candidates within India were maximum in Jaipur (52,351) and minimum in West Sikkim (105). Similarly, the number of candidates outside India were maximum in Dubai (646) and minimum in Thailand (6),” the official said.
According to the official, 494 city coordinators, 3,911 observers, 7,877 deputy observers, 3,570 centre superintendents, 1,56,504 invigilators, 39,330 support staff, 7,877 admin staff and 684 flying squad members were involved in the conduct of examination.
(With inputs for agencies)
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