SC paves way for
single entrance exam for medical courses
New
Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the decks for
holding a single common entrance for admission to all medical and dental
courses in the country.
The
ruling by a bench comprising justices Anil R. Dave, Shiva Kirti Singh and
Adarsh Goel comes just two days before the Central Board of Secondary Education
(CBSE) is scheduled to conduct the All India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT).
With
this order, AIPMT will be christened as National Eligibility cum Entrance Exam
(NEET) but with a national mandate.
The
order would imply that all government colleges, deemed universities and private
medical colleges would be covered under NEET and those examinations which have
already taken place or slated to be conducted separately stand nullified.
“We are
running against time,” the bench said while reviving government’s 21 December
2010 notification for holding single common entrance test or NEET with a
clarification that any challenge on the issue would directly come before the
Supreme Court and no High Court can interfere in it.
Additional
solicitor general Pinky Anand, appearing for CBSE, told the court that the exam
would be held in two phases—on 1 May
for those who have applied for the AIPMT and on 24 July for fresh candidates. It means CBSE will float rules and
dates for a fresh test to be held on 24 July to galvanize any inconvenience to
candidates.
The
combined results will be declared by 17 August. Around 650,000 students are
likely to appear in the national entrance.
On 11
April, the apex court recalled its 2013 judgment that had declared NEET
“illegal” and “unconstitutional” on the ground that it interfered with the
right of private, minority and linguistic institutions to admit students.
Following
the recall of the judgement, Sankalp Charitable Trust, a non-profit moved the
top court on 26 April seeking clarity on holding a common national entrance.
The
centre, CBSE and the Medical Council of India (MCI) assured the court that the
test can be conducted this year.
The apex
court’s ruling is intended to end uncertainty surrounding the admission test.
Many states have, however, already announced their own entrance examinations
for admission. The court briefly heard opposition to NEET by three states—Tamil
Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh—before rejecting their pleas.
Andhra
Pradesh is slated to conduct Engineering, Agriculture and Medical Common
Entrance Test on 29 April. Tamil Nadu has been admitting students based on
marks obtained in Class XII since 2007.
The
court ruling got a mixed response from medical colleges. While private minority
institutions such as the Christian Medical College, Vellore insisted that NEET
cannot be imposed on them, the top court did not agree.
“We
welcome this wholeheartedly. Why should students take 11-12 entrance exams?
This will be a huge relief. But this is only half a step. There should also be
a common exit exam so that all doctors are of same quality,” said Ravi Kant,
vice-chancellor, King George’s Medical University, Lucknow.
Many
students took to social networking sites to complain that the exam cannot be
announced merely two days in advance.
“I have
already given Bihar’s state entrance and now we are told that admissions would
be done through NEET. If a national entrance is for student convenience, where
is my convenience?” asked Shabab Anwar, who is preparing for medical entrances
for the last two years.
A
five-judge bench headed by Justice Dave will, however, revisit the legality of
NEET exam on 3 May and hear all states that have objected to the common
entrance. Incidentally, Dave was also a part of the three-judge bench which
scrapped NEET in 2013. He had delivered a dissenting opinion, upholding the
government’s move to conduct a national entrance.
The
government welcomed the court verdict. “We will enable MCI and CBSE to conduct
the entrance exams in a manner and time that would not cause distress to
students,” said J.P. Nadda, Union minister for health and family welfare.
