Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Bangalore: The Karnataka High Court on Monday stayed the notifications issued by the Medical Council of India (MCI) for conducting a common National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for undergraduate and postgraduate medical courses.

Justice S. Abdul Nazeer passed the interim order on petitions filed by the Karnataka Private Medical and Dental Colleges' Association and the Karnataka Religious and Linguistic Minorities Professional Colleges' Association. The first NEET for the MBBS course is scheduled in May 2012. There are 38 medical colleges in Karnataka, of which 10 colleges are run by State Government and 28 by private managements, including deemed-to-be universities.

The petitioner associations have contended a countrywide NEET will lead to changes in the existing admission procedure based on statues and rules framed by the State Government as per the directions of the Supreme Court.

“NEET for MBBS course has many lacunae and shortcomings, which have to be addressed by all the authorities concerned, failing which it will jeopardise the career of lakhs of students all over India,” the petitioners said while pointing out that the curriculum followed in classes 11 and 12 in States was different from the curriculum proposed by the NCERT for the NEET examination.

The MCI, the petitions pointed out, did not provide any opportunity to the Karnataka Government or the petitioners before issuing notifications for a common entrance test at the national level. Making NEET compulsory for admission to private unaided medical colleges would amount to interference in the admission process of these colleges and it would be contrary to verdicts of the Supreme Court, which has granted greater autonomy to these colleges in the admission process, the petitioners have contended.