Dubai: In a major relief for expatriate Indian students in the UAE who wish to appear for India’s National Eligibilty cum Entrance Test (NEET) for entry into medical colleges across India, India’s Education Ministry announced today that UAE will be a centre outside India to host the NEET in 2021. Dubai will be an examination centre for the test. This is the first time that the NEET will be staged in UAE.

NEET is scheduled to be held on September 12 and it has already been announced that it will be a pen-and-paper test.

In view of the current flight restrictions and the COVID-19 pandemic, it would have been extremely difficult for students from the UAE to travel to India and physically appear for this entrance test. Now, with UAE officially named as a test centre outside India, Indian students here will be able to appear for the test without having to travel to India.

In tweets today, the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Indian Consulate in Dubai, both shared this significant development.