MCI nod for national eligibility test for MBBS fuels row

Updated on: Tuesday, January 04, 2011

In a controversial move, the Medical Council of India (MCI) has issued a notification making the national eligibility-cum-entrance test (NEET) the sole qualification for the MBBS course as well as post graduate admissions in all medical colleges across the country.

The notification dated December 21 has stated that henceforth the marks obtained in mathematics at the plus-two level, too, would be considered for admission to the MBBS course.

An all-India as well as a state-wide merit list of candidates should be prepared on the basis of the marks obtained in NEET, the notification stipulated, adding that the minimum marks in NEET for admission to an MBBS course would be 50 per cent. It would be 40 per cent for SC, ST and OBC candidates and 45 per cent for disabled persons. No candidate, who has failed to obtain the minimum eligibility marks shall be admitted to the MBBS course in the academic year (concerned), the notification states. The notice doesn’t specify the minimum marks required to appear for NEET.

Reservation of seats shall be as per the laws prevailing in the states/ union territories concerned, it said, adding that minimum marks could be lowered in case sufficient number of candidates are not available from the reserved categories.

The notification said it was being issued with the previous approval of the central government. What is most controversial about the notification is that the NEET had been made the sole admission criterion for all admissions, including those being offered by unaided minority/ non-minority institutions.

Already, the All India Medical Association (AIMA) has shot off a letter to the Union health ministry crying foul. AIMA president Deen Dayal Naidu has said that the MCI board had exceeded its brief in notifying NEET when the matter was still pending before the Supreme Court. The plan for the common entrance test has been opposed in the apex court by some states as well as associations of unaided colleges. “None of the 13 expressly defined roles of the MCI, as found in clause 33 of the regulations, empowers it to dabble with the admission procedure,” said Naidu.

MCI nod for national eligibility test for MBBS fuels row

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