Major Change in NEET 2019:

Aadhaar is no longer mandatory for registration for NEET 2019 or other such national level entrance examinations. Supreme Court on 7th March 2018, directed CBSE to not make Aadhaar mandatory for enrollment to NEET exam. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief justice Dipak Misra has also directed CBSE to make this information available on its official website. It is also evident and appear on the CBSE officical website. 

History:

Earlier, in the official notification released by CBSE for NEET registration Aadhaar was a mandatory requirement for registration for the exam, except for students belonging to Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, and Meghalaya.

On 7th March 2018, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)  had informed the Supreme Court that it had not authorised CBSE to mandatorily take Aadhaar number of students to enroll for appearing in NEET 2018 examination and afterwards.

Attorney General KK Venugopal had said that he has instructions from Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) that just like in Jammu and Kashmir, Meghalaya and Assam, CBSE could use other identity proofs like passport, voter card and ration card for the enrollment purpose.

Senior advocates Arvind Datar and Vibha Makhija, for petitioners, said it was a “great tragedy” that the authorities continue to violate the court’s interim orders. “Thousands of students are suffering, uncertain about their future... the Supreme Court has to send a clear message... something has to be done,” Mr. Datar urged the five-judge Bench.

Attorney General K.K. Venugopal initially tried to reason that the Supreme Court orders on the voluntary nature of Aadhaar preceded the Aadhaar Act of 2016.

However, Mr. Venugopal subsequently changed tack and said the UIDAI had never authorised the CBSE to issue this notification making Aadhaar mandatory for NEET aspirants.

The CBSE made Aadhaar mandatory for NEET students across the country, except in Jammu and Kashmir, Meghalaya and Assam. Students in these three States can show other alternative ID proofs. Mr. Venugopal said the same condition of alternative proofs of identity could now be uniformly applied for NEET aspirants across the country.

The UIDAI was responding to a plea which challenged the decision of CBSE and NTA making Aadhaar number or Aadhaar enrollment number mandatory for students who are planning to appear for NEET 2019.

Earlier the plea was filed in the Gujarat High Court which had dismissed the plea on February 27, 2018. The order of Gujarat High Court was later challenged in the Supreme Court.

Alternate Documents:

The CBSE had confirmed on its official site that the following are the alternate documents that the aspirant shall use at the time of registration

• Ration Card
• Passport
• Bank Account No
• Other valid government IDs (Driving Licence, Voter ID etc)

To learn more about NEET UG 2019 please visit: NATIONAL ELIGIBILITY CUM ENTRANCE TEST - NEET UG 2019