NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday gave an important clarification that will enable Medical Council of India (MCI) to go ahead with its plan to hold a single common entrance test (CET) for MBBS and post-graduation seats in all government and private medical colleges from next year, that is the 2011-12 academic session.
Appearing for the MCI governing council, senior advocate Amarendra Saran informed a bench comprising Justices R V Raveendran and A K Patnaik that the regulator was not issuing the notification for single CET because of pendency of petitions in the SC.
The bench clarified that “pendency of petitions will not stand in the way of MCI notifying the new regulations (proposing single CET) and others from challenging the notification (subsequently)”.
This clarification will allow MCI to notify its regulations envisaging single CET for MBBS and PG courses in all medical colleges from 2011.
Once MCI issues the notification, there will be a single entrance examination each for MBBS and MD courses offered by all 271 medical colleges, 138 run by governments and 133 under private management. These colleges offer over 31,000 seats for MBBS courses and another 11,000 seats for PG degrees.
Saran, aided by petitioner Simran Jain’s counsel A D N Rao, had pleaded for single common entrance test, arguing it would protect students from harassment of having to appear in 10 to 15 entrance tests every year.
Addressing the concern of state governments afraid of losing their quota in state medical colleges, MCI clarified that state quota would remain intact as `National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test’ (NEET) would draw up a national merit list as well as state-wise ranking list for general category, SC, ST and OBC as well as physically challenged persons.
The MCI proposal had said, “In order to be eligible for admissions to MBBS courses for a particular academic year, it shall be necessary for a candidate to obtain minimum 50% marks in each paper of NEET held for the said academic year. However, in respect of candidates belonging to SC, ST and OBC, the minimum percentage of marks shall be 40% in each paper and for candidates with locomotory disability of lower limbs, it would be 45% in each paper.”
5 Comments
Is this verdict applicable to the Aipgme exam on 9th January 2011..Kindly clear my doubts..
@blitz
It willnot be applicable for this Jan exam no worries…
there will be admission centralise or university wise also?
what will be the most probable date for cet 2011-12?
how can A CEt be held when the syllabus of all the states are not uniform? It is unfair for the students and more so for the rural ones where there is no access to coaching.