Making NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) mandatory for all medical aspirants from next year, the Supreme Court on Friday said that, private colleges and institutes in states cannot conduct their separate tests for admissions to various medical courses while allowing government institutions to go on with their self-scheduled entrance examinations this year.
The admissions to non-government colleges can only be made through National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-2), which is set to be held on July 24. Also, the students who had appeared for NEET-I held on May 1 would not be allowed in phase II.
Three-judge bench, led by justice A R Dave said that, "There is no question of allowing any exam by private institutions."
According to the judgment, the court will restrict deemed universities or private colleges from having their own test to eliminate irregularities but would give authority to the government institutions to carry on their own admission process.
Meanwhile CBSE and the MCI, which had stood in support of NEET and had opposed the protests by state governments, also requested the court to allow them for their own entrance examinations.
The frequent judgments passed by the Court has created a huge confusion among the lakhs of medical aspirants, allowing them to loom in a state where the validity of the examination they have appeared or waiting to appear is questioned.
However, formal order over the uncertainty of medical entrance examinations conducted by states in six different languages is expected to be given on Monday. Weather the states, which have already conducted or are about to conduct common entrance tests for admission to medical courses, will be exempted from admitting students through NEET-2 or not, is set to be decided by bench of Justices A R Da ve, Shiva Kirti Singh and A K Goel.
