The number of students in Gujarat choosing Gujarati as their language for NEET preparation is steadily declining, with English becoming the preferred choice for many medical aspirants.
Seven years ago, around 60,000 students in Gujarat appeared for NEET in Gujarati. In 2026, the number has fallen to fewer than 50,000. Educators and coaching teachers say the shift is mainly linked to the growing popularity of English-medium education, the widespread use of English in medical studies, and the shortage of quality Gujarati study material.
English Becomes the Preferred Choice for NEET Preparation
Experts say the change is largely practical. Many students now feel that preparing for NEET in English will make it easier for them to continue their medical education later.
Govind Tiwari, a teacher who owns and teaches at a coaching centre, said admissions to Gujarati-medium schools are falling while English-medium education is growing.
According to him, students often choose English because medical education and the medical profession mainly use English terminology. As a result, many students believe that starting their NEET preparation in English will help them in the long run.
The lack of study resources in Gujarati is another major reason behind the change. Prakash Patel, a NEET aspirant, said that much of the study and reference material needed for NEET preparation is available only in English.
He also pointed out that there are fewer teachers who can effectively teach NEET subjects in Gujarati. With growing urban influence, many students are therefore choosing English for both their studies and coaching.
Gujarati Still Second Most Preferred Regional Language
Despite the decline, Gujarati continues to have a strong presence among regional languages used for NEET.
In 2026, 49,647 students registered for NEET in Gujarati, according to the figures shown in the data. This was higher than the number of students choosing Bengali, Tamil and Assamese.
The number of registrations in other regional languages stood at 38,577 for Bengali, 29,845 for Tamil and 2,147 for Assamese. Hindi remained far ahead of all regional languages, with around 3.4 lakh registrations.
This means Gujarati remains the second most preferred regional language for NEET across India, even though its use among students in Gujarat itself is gradually declining.
Students Using English Resources Even for Gujarati Exams
The shift towards English is also being seen among students who continue to study in Gujarati.
Prakash Maheshwari, a biology teacher with 16 years of experience, said he has seen the change closely. According to him, the number of English-medium students is increasing because even students preparing for the Gujarati-medium NEET exam often have to depend on English resources.
This creates a situation where students may choose Gujarati as their exam language but still rely heavily on English books, reference material and other study resources while preparing.
Gujarat Also Sees a Drop in NEET Qualifiers
The language shift comes at a time when Gujarat has also recorded a decline in the overall number of NEET candidates and qualifiers.
In 2025, 81,605 candidates from Gujarat appeared for NEET, and 50,040 qualified.
In 2026, the number of candidates fell to 79,190, while the number of successful candidates dropped sharply to 38,146.
The two trends — the decline in Gujarati-medium NEET registrations and the fall in the number of candidates qualifying from Gujarat — appear to be moving in the same direction. However, it has not been established that the change in language preference is directly responsible for the decline in NEET qualification numbers.
For now, the growing preference for English highlights a wider change in how students in Gujarat are preparing for medical entrance exams. With English dominating medical education and much of the available NEET study material, Gujarati-medium aspirants are increasingly turning towards English resources, while the availability of Gujarati teachers and preparation material remains a concern.
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