Thiruvananthapuram: The Medical Council of India's decision to bar students of open schools from the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for MBBS and BDS this year has triggered protests.
The standard XII students of open school boards, including that of the National Institute of Open School (NIOS), have been barred from attending the NEET from this year on the pretext that these schemes did not have practical classes for science subjects.
But NIOS students are being allowed to write joint entrance examinations (JEE-main) for IIT and JEE-advanced and National Aptitude Test for Architecture (NATA).
As per the data of CBSE which conducted the examinations, 1,412 students of seven open school boards had qualified in NEET last year. Of them, 864 were from NIOS alone.
With the last date for applying for NEET being March 9, the NIOS has called for an immediate solution to the issue to protect the students' future.
CBSE spokesperson Rama Sharma told Deccan Chronicle that the rules for the examinations were framed by the MCI. "Hence, we have no power to decide on allowing NIOS students to write NEET," she said.
National Institute of Open School officials feared that the veterinary council, nursing council and the pharmacy council may also follow suit. They are now accepting the open school certificate for higher studies.
The MCI in an order issued in September 2012 had said that the students appearing for standard XII examinations conducted by National Institute of Open School were eligible for admission to MBBS course. Hence, there was no reason for the sudden de-recognition, they argued.
Sources said that the NIOS has approached the Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD) and asked the joint secretary to take up the matter with the health ministry urgently.
Former join commissioner for entrance examinations Rajoo Krishnan said that the state has an open school named Kerala open school where several students write the higher secondary examinations.
The state students have also enrolled for National Institute of Open School . The MCI wanted to prescribe certain quality check for the NEET examinations as practical classes were not part of the open school, said Mr Krishnan.
