Supreme Court Allows Candidates Above 25 Years To Apply For NEET UG 2019

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has allowed medical aspiring candidates above the age of 25 years to appear in the NEET-UG 2019 exam. However, the apex court has also specified that their candidature will be subject to the final outcome of the case on the validity of CBSE’s decision to fix the upper age limit. The official NEET UG 2019 notification was released on November 1. The notification specified the upper age limit for students as 25 years as on the date of the examination which means any student above the age of 25 on May 5, 2019, is not eligible for the NEET UG exam this year. However, with the current SC directive, such students can now apply for the exam with the condition that their eligibility status will be subject to the final ruling in the case. From 2019 onward several entrance exams have been handed over to the National Testing Agency (NTA) which was constituted for the sole purpose of conducting entrance and competitive exams and relieve other bodies such as CBSE of these duties. NTA began the application process for the NEET UG 2019 exam on November 1, 2018. Supreme Court has also asked NTA to extend the deadline for the application process to allow such students to apply for the exam. Earlier the last date to apply for the exam was November 30, 2018, which is tomorrow. The upper age limit for NEET UG has been a point of contention for students earlier also. Supreme Court had, in 2017, scrapped upper age limit for those aspiring to appear in the NEET, but dismissed an age relaxation petition in 2018. Meanwhile, the candidature of Open School students is also subject to the outcome of the Special Leave Petitions/Appeals filed by the Medical Council of India. SOURCE: NDTV