New Delhi: Under mounting pressure from several states, the Centre Friday gave its nod for promulgation of an ordinance to keep state boards out of the ambit of uniform medical entrance examination for this year.
The ordinance, cleared by the Union Cabinet Friday morning, is aimed at “partially” overturning a Supreme Court verdict that said all government colleges, deemed universities and private medical colleges would be covered under the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET). This was the only agenda for the Cabinet meeting, sources said.
Clarifying that the exemption is only for the state government seats, sources said that state seats which are earmarked in the private medical colleges have also been exempted.
Different states earmark anything between 12-15 per cent seats in various private medical colleges for state quota so that students from one state can get seat in another state. The remaining seats in such colleges are reserved for domicile students. With this ordinance, the remaining seats meant for domicile students will come under NEET.
Nearly 6.5 lakh students have already taken the medical entrance test in the first phase of NEET held May 1.
The next phase of the exam is scheduled for July 24. Once the ordinance is issued, students of state government boards will not have to sit for NEET July 24.
They, however, will have to become part of the uniform entrance exam from next academic session, government sources said.
The exam will be applicable for those applying for Central government and private medical colleges.Sources said that more than 15 states were opposed to NEET and had raised issues like different syllabus and languages during the recently-held state health ministers meeting.
They said the students affiliated to state boards will find it tough to appear for the uniform test as early as July and such students will be at a loss compared to those who have followed the central board.
Union health minister JP Nadda is likely to meet President Pranab Mukherjee to explain to him about the need for the ordinance.
The NGO, Sankalp Charitable Trust, which had earlier moved the Supreme Court in support of NEET, said that it would challenge the ordinance as soon as it is notified.
Advocate Amit Kumar, who had appeared for the NGO, said that the order of the Supreme Court cannot be circumvented by the government by bringing an ordinance.
“There are multiple grounds on which we will be challenging the ordinance, once it is notified. The Centre during the hearing of the case had taken a stand before the Supreme Court that it has no difficulty in holding the NEET. Now it cannot just take a U-turn and allow state boards to be out of the ambit of the single common entrance test,” the lawyer said. PTI