Coversation ON Education
‘NEET has ensured level playing field for students from all boards’
Controversies involving NEET have been neverending. It is now drawing flak because students with negative marks in a subject have also managed to get admission. It is the faulty implementation of the exam that is to blame, says Medical Council of India vice-president Dr C V Bhirmanandham , who was part of the team that recommended introduction of NEET two years ago. In an interview with Pushpa Narayan , he says though there is room for improvement in NEET it has ensured meritorious students are not left out and forced states to revamp the school curriculum
It’s been two years since NEET has been implemented. Do you think it has improved the quality of students in medical education?
NEET was brought in to ensure meritorious students get into medical colleges. It has brought a level playing field for students from all boards. It has also made states to rethink the quality of school education they provide. States are now revising syllabus and improving teaching quality. Unfortunately, we are seeing drawbacks during implementation. One of the biggest criticisms is that students who scored negative marks in one or two of the subjects tested for NEET have got admission this year. Most of these admissions are in deemed universities. This happened because in online counselling the student with the highest rank locks the seat. Many students who scraped through NEET got admissions. There is a discussion now whether we should have a minimum mark for each of the subjects. There were also errors in the paper. Students should be evaluated properly. They should also be allotted seats carefully. For instance, instead of counselling for deemed universities along with all-India quota (AIQ) in government colleges, the directorate general of health services can do AIQ seats first. Students with high marks should be given the option to get into deemed universities first.
If students with poor marks enter college won’t it affect the quality of doctors?
The course offers rigorous training with a year’s internship. We monitor course content and ensure students are taught everything they need to study. Nevertheless, it is important to have an exit exam before they are allowed to register themselves as doctors. This will ensure the quality and standards of medical colleges in government and private sector. It is mandatory in most countries. The exam is a part of the National Medical Commission Bill and will be made mandatory once the bill is passed. It took us five years to implement NEET across the country. Exit exam may face similar hurdles, but like NEET it will soon be inevitable.
Isn’t the high fee structure in deemed universities one of the reasons why some meritorious students are kept out?
Yes. Fee structure in some universities is very high. And most students who enter these colleges must be willing to pay up to ₹1 crore towards course fee. Some of these students may not have high ranks. But I think we should accept it the way it is because medical education in many universities across the world is expensive. The overheads such as salaries for senior professors in private sector are high.
Do you think such institutions have no scope to reduce fees?
Of course they do. They can increase bed charges and cost of treatment for patients who opt for private and luxury rooms to subsidise education. They can also offer scholarships to meritorious students. This way, students with high marks, who can’t afford high fee, can study medicine in those colleges. But these can’t be forced on the colleges. They have autonomy to fix fee and they must be judicious.
Why can’t MCI allow government colleges like the Madras Medical College to triple their MBBS seats?
That’s not as simple as it sounds. The government will have to triple their faculty requirements. They will need more doctors, nurses and other paramedical staff to run these colleges. The reason students prefer government colleges is not just because the fee is low, but because the teaching quality is high. With 250 students in one classroom, it’s already crowded.
TESTING TIMES: NEET needs to be implemented properly by mandating careful allotment of seats, error-free question papers and meticulous evaluation
‘NEET has ensured level playing field for students from all boards’
Controversies involving NEET have been neverending. It is now drawing flak because students with negative marks in a subject have also managed to get admission. It is the faulty implementation of the exam that is to blame, says Medical Council of India vice-president Dr C V Bhirmanandham , who was part of the team that recommended introduction of NEET two years ago. In an interview with Pushpa Narayan , he says though there is room for improvement in NEET it has ensured meritorious students are not left out and forced states to revamp the school curriculum
It’s been two years since NEET has been implemented. Do you think it has improved the quality of students in medical education?
NEET was brought in to ensure meritorious students get into medical colleges. It has brought a level playing field for students from all boards. It has also made states to rethink the quality of school education they provide. States are now revising syllabus and improving teaching quality. Unfortunately, we are seeing drawbacks during implementation. One of the biggest criticisms is that students who scored negative marks in one or two of the subjects tested for NEET have got admission this year. Most of these admissions are in deemed universities. This happened because in online counselling the student with the highest rank locks the seat. Many students who scraped through NEET got admissions. There is a discussion now whether we should have a minimum mark for each of the subjects. There were also errors in the paper. Students should be evaluated properly. They should also be allotted seats carefully. For instance, instead of counselling for deemed universities along with all-India quota (AIQ) in government colleges, the directorate general of health services can do AIQ seats first. Students with high marks should be given the option to get into deemed universities first.
If students with poor marks enter college won’t it affect the quality of doctors?
The course offers rigorous training with a year’s internship. We monitor course content and ensure students are taught everything they need to study. Nevertheless, it is important to have an exit exam before they are allowed to register themselves as doctors. This will ensure the quality and standards of medical colleges in government and private sector. It is mandatory in most countries. The exam is a part of the National Medical Commission Bill and will be made mandatory once the bill is passed. It took us five years to implement NEET across the country. Exit exam may face similar hurdles, but like NEET it will soon be inevitable.
Isn’t the high fee structure in deemed universities one of the reasons why some meritorious students are kept out?
Yes. Fee structure in some universities is very high. And most students who enter these colleges must be willing to pay up to ₹1 crore towards course fee. Some of these students may not have high ranks. But I think we should accept it the way it is because medical education in many universities across the world is expensive. The overheads such as salaries for senior professors in private sector are high.
Do you think such institutions have no scope to reduce fees?
Of course they do. They can increase bed charges and cost of treatment for patients who opt for private and luxury rooms to subsidise education. They can also offer scholarships to meritorious students. This way, students with high marks, who can’t afford high fee, can study medicine in those colleges. But these can’t be forced on the colleges. They have autonomy to fix fee and they must be judicious.
Why can’t MCI allow government colleges like the Madras Medical College to triple their MBBS seats?
That’s not as simple as it sounds. The government will have to triple their faculty requirements. They will need more doctors, nurses and other paramedical staff to run these colleges. The reason students prefer government colleges is not just because the fee is low, but because the teaching quality is high. With 250 students in one classroom, it’s already crowded.
TESTING TIMES: NEET needs to be implemented properly by mandating careful allotment of seats, error-free question papers and meticulous evaluation
No comments:
Post a Comment