Hyderabad: A majority of the medical aspirants who applied for TS Eamcet-2016 will be appearing for the entrance test on Sunday despite recent developments making NEET mandatory for medical and dental admissions in colleges all over the country.
Eamcet organisers have already declared the afternoon exam (to be held from 2.30 to 5.30 pm) will form the basis for filling undergraduate seats in Agriculture, Pharma courses besides Ayurveda and Homeopathy. Nearly 1 lakh candidates will be appearing for the test to be held at 190 centres across the state, with 50 centres in Hyderabad alone.
K. Chander, a second-year student from Rajendranagar, who had prepared diligently for the medical exam, stated that he had hoped that NEET would be exempted at least this year, but it was not to be. He secured 980 marks in the second-year Intermediate exam announced a few weeks ago.
“There’s still is a lot of confusion among the student fraternity with statements from the government that it has not given up the case. Though my aim is to become a doctor, I have decided to write the Eamcet and even my family has advised me not to skip it,” he said.
Coaching centres too are advising students to write the exam since it would serve as a practice test for NEET. “The syllabus for both exams matches to a large extent. Further, this test would help students have an idea about their preparation and what areas they should cover to succeed in NEET,” a lecturer at a coaching centre said.
Jeevan Kumar, another medical aspirant echoed similar views. He felt writing Eamcet would help them gauge their preparations. “We are looking at Eamcet as a pre-final exam to NEET. Although it will not fulfill our dreams of getting medical seats, we are up for the challenge to test our skills,” he said.
