NEET will give priority to merit, says Ketan Desai

Ahamedabad: After the apex court on Monday revived National Eligibility Entrance Examination (NEET), president elect (2016) of the World Medical Association and former president of Medical Council of India (MCI), Dr Ketan Desai, said NEET is a certainty for medical admissions from 2017.

It was Dr Desai who had first proposed NEET in 2009. Interestingly, Dr Desai said that after NEET, next on the agenda is an 'exit test'. "We will now lobby for a common exit test for all MBBS graduates to qualify them for practising medicine. This will ensure uniform, good quality doctors." "Implementing NEET this year will require immense effort and will on the part of the central government as the entrance exam for PG courses is slated for April 25," he said.

"The PMT exam for MBBS admissions is scheduled for May 5. If the government wishes, NEET can be implemented this year but it will entail cancelling the PMT exam and setting a fresh schedule. This may not be feasible this year. But NEET is a certainty from 2017," said Dr Desai.




Dr Desai said that NEET as a common entrance exam for admission in medical colleges across India was conceived to give students a level playing field and a merit-based chance of getting a seat in any of the country's 418 medical colleges.







He further said that since merit will decide admissions even in private medical colleges, NEET will change the quality of doctors who will serve society in future. Of the total medical colleges in the country, 50% are private institutions which are said to offer seats to less meritorious candidates for a capitation fee.







"Our research had revealed that 90-odd medical entrance exams were being conducted," said Dr Desa. "Parents and students had to pay through their noses for these exams and travelling expenses because the tests were held at multiple locations. Once NEET is implemented, students will have to give one exam and qualify for admission in the state and against all-India quota," he said.







Dr Desai clarified that since the MCI does not have the necessary infrastructure, NEET for undergraduate courses will be conducted by CBSE while PG NEET will be conducted by AIIMS.