If SC upholds national entrance as the only test, state exam tomorrow will have no meaning
For the 1.4 lakh candidates from Maharashtra seeking admission to medical colleges, May 5 means Catch-22.
The Supreme Court (SC) has adjourned the review petitions of states demanding an exemption from the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), which the apex court declared as the only entrance test, on May 5.
The same day, exams for MH-CET, or Maharashtra Common Entrance Test, will also take place.
"Now, if states lose the case in the SC and NEET remains as the only test for admission to MBBS and BDS courses, CET would be useless," an aspirant summed up the dilemma of the candidates. "Considering the mental agony of lakhs of candidates, the matter should have been decided on Tuesday itself," she said.
Chances are that the candidates may have to appear in NEET-II as well on July 24. After the SC ruling, NEET is being held in two phases. NEET-1, held on May1 (converting AIPMT into NEET-1), and, NEET-2, to be held on July 24, for those candidates who had not applied for AIPMT.
The state is citing the difference in exam patterns (negative marking and maximum marks) and the syllabi of the national (CBSE) and state-level competitions as a major excuse for exemption.
In the petition, the state has said that it would be unfair to assess candidates in two different exams and has demanded that NEET should be implemented from 2018, giving candidates two years for preparations.
"Had we been told now itself that only NEET would be considered, we would have focused on the CBSE curriculum than wasting time and energy on MH-CET," rued an aspirant.
CBSE being made supreme: Academicians
Academicians say that the apex court's move to make NEET mandatory grants supremacy to the CBSE and makes state boards redundant. "If students need to appear in national-level tests based on CBSE syllabi, there is no need for state boards. All state boards must be scrapped and only CBSE schools should be there across India," said a principal.
Machhindra Chate, head of a coaching institute, agrees. "State boards will anyhow be redundant henceforth. If all schools in the country follow CBSE education, it would be a horrible situation."
Set up separate authority for national-level exams: experts
Academicians also press for a separate body for national-level exams. "CBSE is unequipped to handle national-level exams. Anyway, it is just a school board. Why should it be burdened with entrance exams? There must be a separate authority for holding all national exams, including JEE," say professors.
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