NEW DELHI: In a move that is going to help thousands of students planning to pursue medical courses abroad, the government considers extending the validity of National Eligibility cum EntranceTest (NEET) score to three years. Currently, NEET is valid for one year, the same year it is being attempted.The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry cleared a proposal by the Medical Council of India-Board of Governors to this effect.A senior official with the ministry said that this has been done to help students who might be living outside India and wish to come back after becoming doctors. This way, the students will not have to take NEET all over again if they are unable to join a medical college in the year they appear for the test. At present, medical graduates who obtain their degrees from institutes abroad have to take the foreign Medical Graduate Examination conducted by the medical education regulator before registering to practice as doctors in the country. Earlier, students scoring a minimum of 50 per cent marks in Class XII had to procure an eligibility certificate from the MCI before moving abroad to become doctors. This year, NEET is scheduled for May 5.