Clarity has been delivered with a punch at the end of a series of hearings held on the issue of admissions to undergraduate medical and dental courses beginning with the immediate academic year 2016-17. All admissions will be made only on the basis of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Neet-2), to be held on July 24 or later, which all aspiring students, including those who appeared for the first test on May 1, can take. Most significantly, all private medical colleges, aided and unaided, and deemed universities will have to fill all their seats with candidates from the Neet merit list into which a reservation for SC/ST candidates will be built.
The reining in of private medical colleges and deemed universities is a very significant step towards ensuring the most meritorious candidates become doctors. Considering the fact that a majority of Indian patients will be placing their health and lives in the hands of allopathic doctors with at least a basic MBBS degree, it would only be a fair expectation that they have the best medical advice and medication.
Every other consideration pales before the matter of competence in a medical professional, who has to tend to his patients as well as contribute to the general public health of the nation. The withdrawal of recognition to all other entrance tests, either by states or private colleges and universities, and Tamil Nadu’s unique system of admissions based solely on higher secondary school-leaving marks, means Neet will be a level playing field for all. With the Justice Lodha-led oversight committee in charge of Neet-2, there is every expectation that the test will be conducted in conformity with principles of fair play and the supremacy of competence.
