For the last few years, there has been immense confusion about the procedure to obtain medical admissions in the country. The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test was made mandatory for all private colleges and government colleges starting this academic year. This verdict was opposed by many states because they wanted to conduct the tests in regional languages instead of just English or Hindi. The states also argued that the syllabus for NEET was different from the syllabus of the exams conducted by them. Many colleges even obtained a stay order on this ruling and conducted exams separately.

What is NEET?

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) was introduced as an entrance test that all medical aspirants should take in order to get an admission in private and government-aided colleges. This is for the MBBS, BDS, and MD/MS courses. The test is conducted by Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE). The NEET has replaced the All India Pre Medical Test (AIPMT) and all the tests that are conducted by different states and private medical colleges.

Current Scenario

The Union Grant Commission (UGC) released a notification on 15^th September 2016 stating that students should mandatorily write NEET to get admission in deemed medical universities. Therefore, from the next academic year, all medical aspirants should write NEET to gain admission in any medical college in the country. This rule is applicable to both private and government-aided institutes.

UGC rules

• The clause 6.3 of the UGC Regulation 2016 states that the Medical Council of India can decide the common test that should be conducted for students to obtain medical admissions.
• According to section 20(1) of UGC Act 2016, all the admission procedures carried out by central or state medical institutes should be on the basis of NEET score.
• The latest notification has made the NEET mandatory for both MBBS and BDS courses and has clearly stated that admission to these courses should be on the basis of NEET merit list.