NEET ordinance to defer medical entrance exam by a year cleared by government

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, May 20, 2016: The government today cleared an ordinance deferring the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) by a year following protests from a number of states and medical colleges over a Supreme Court ruling mandating the exam for all medical aspirants.

   
The Ordinance has been brought to postpone by 12 months the effect of the Supreme Court judgment, which disallowed the states to conduct their own entrance exams and ordered that only the NEET be the basis for admissions.
   
On May 9, the Supreme Court refused to modify its April 28 order making NEET mandatory for admission to undergraduate medical courses across the country for the academic year 2016-2017.
   
The apex court order had implied that all government colleges, deemed universities and private medical colleges would be covered under NEET and those examinations which had already taken place or were slated to be conducted separately stand scrapped.
   
Major political parties and states had favoured deferring implementation of the apex court verdict. Several state governments wanted their exams to be the basis for admission for their 85 per cent quota seats for this year too.
   
Earlier this week, Health Minister JP Nadda had said the reason behind bringing NEET for admission into medical and dental colleges was to tackle the corruption and malpractices in them.
   
The first phase of NEET was taken by nearly six lakh students on May 1, the second phase is due on July 24.