No common medical entrance test this year, govt to issue ordinance

The centre has decided to defer implementation of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) - the common entrance test for medical and dental courses - for state governments and their affiliated institutions for the current academic year.

The centre will soon issue an ordinance or an executive order to defer the implementation of NEET for state governments and their affiliated institutions for this academic year.

However, NEET will be applicable for those applying for central government and private management institutions under the management quota.

Around 6.5 lakh students have appeared for the first phase of NEET held on 1 May. The next phase of the exam is scheduled for 24 July.

The decision was made after state health ministers and other representatives met with union health minister JP Nadda to discuss the issue.

The state government representatives had asked the centre to consider the stress the students will face if uncertainty prevailed.

JP Nadda first held meetings with health ministers of 14 states. Another meeting was later held between leaders of the Congress, the INLD, Left and PDP and Union finance minister Arun Jaitley.

Last month, the Supreme Court had said that students need to take only one common entrance test, the NEET, for entry to medical colleges, following a large number of complaints about corruption in a situation where all state governments and private medical colleges held their own exams.

But after the court's order, several states -- including Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu - had said the implementation of the common entrance test should be deferred by a year.