Scrapping of NEET-UG
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: July 20 , 2013 -

Why and how could the Supreme Court of India completely reverse one of its own earlier verdicts and struck down the proposal of Medical Council of India (MCI) for a single window opportunity to all medical aspirants for admission to various medical courses across the country may still need to be debated, but it is interesting how the judgment of the apex court has put the State Government in an embarrassing situation, forcing to eat its own words.

Now that a two to one majority verdict of a three-bench of the Supreme Court has invalidated National Eligibility-cum Entrance Test for Under Graduate Courses (NEET – UG) for admission to medical courses, the State Government has to have a rethink or make preparation all over again for conducting the Manipur MBBS/BDS Entrance Examination, 2013, which had been cancelled just two days ahead of its schedule on June 9 following a State Cabinet decision on June 6 but made official only a day after.

The failure of the State Government and its Cabinet to interpret the May 13, 2013 interim order of the apex court, which was related to lifting of the ban imposed on announcing the results of the medical entrance examinations already conducted and nothing (repeat, NOTHING) to do with restriction on the medical entrance tests to be conducted by those States or institutions which haven’t till then, kicked up a needless controversy causing sleepless nights to many a medical aspirants and their parents, who are having the last laugh today.

As we have pointed out earlier, there are lots of merits in the proposal for a common entrance test or uniform admission norms for MBBS, BDS and MD seats in all medical colleges across the country.

This would not only ensure transparency, but also give respite to medical aspirants from the ordeal of filing multiple applications and shuttling between cities across the country to appear in the entrance tests of various medical colleges.

Apart from saving them time, energy and money, the proposal would also curb room for the promoters of several medical colleges to extort hefty capitation fees at the time of admission.

So, the opposition of the parents and other social organizations to the cancellation of State Medical Entrance Test in Manipur was not so much against the proposal of admitting medical students on the basis of the marks scored in their National Eligibility-cum Entrance Test for Under Graduate Courses (NEET – UG) conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) under the initiative of MIC, but the manner in which the cancellation was effected at the last minute by taking everyone for a free ride and the obduracy of the State Government from admitting its mistake.

Nonetheless, even if the judgment of the apex court has brought relief to the medical aspirants and their worried parents and put an end to the controversy over cancelation of pre-medical entrance test in such an unceremonious manner in Manipur, striking down NEET-UG as unconstitutional in complete reversal of an earlier verdict passed by the same court in 2010 in a rush with ‘no proper discussion’ as the CJI is retiring, is likely to kick up yet another round of controversies. After all, justice hurried, they say, is justice buried. So, take heart.