A group of students in favour of the “NEET ordinance”, granting exemption to states from the common entrance test for admission to government medical colleges for 2016-17, on Wednesday filed a caveat in the Supreme Court to ensure that no stay was granted without hearing them.
Soon after the ordinance was promulgated on May 24, the Sankalp Trust, which is in favour of NEET, had announced its intention to challenge the ordinance.
Even as the trust is preparing the grounds for challenge, the present caveat has been filed so that no ex-parte order is passed by the court.
The Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Ordinance, 2016, and The Dentists (Amendment) Ordinance, 2016, have been promulgated to provide for a uniform entrance examination for undergraduate and post-graduate admissions with a proviso that for UG admission for the year 2016-17 only, the state government seats (both in the government and private medical colleges) shall be exempt from the purview of NEET regulations if the state government so opts.
The NEET is being implemented from the current year itself for all UG admissions in all private institution in respect of their seats. The first phase was conducted on May 1 and the second phase is to be held on July 24. Only the state government seats in government medical colleges and state government seats in private institutions will have exemption (if the state government concerned so opts) for the current year.
Six States and one Union Territory are already participating in the NEET this year, and the Ordinances will allow them as well as any other State which so opts to fill up their State Govt. seats from NEET for 2016-17 UG admissions.
As the States of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry do not conduct an examination for entrance in its Medical and Dental Colleges, and instead admit students on the basis of marks obtained at Class XII examinations for their State Government. seats, admissions in these States for the current year only, will be as per the present procedure being adopted by these two States.
