Raising its strong voice against the all-India medical entrance exam NEET, the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government on Thursday passed a resolution in both houses of the state legislature, demanding the Centre allow Karnataka to revert to the earlier Common Entrance Test (CET) system for medical admissions.
Highlighting the flaws and recent irregularities in the NEET exam, the resolution urged the Union Government to exempt Karnataka from NEET and allow the state to admit students to medical colleges based on the CET conducted by the state government.
The resolution was moved by State Minister of Medical Education and Skill Development, Dr. Sharan Prakash Patil, in the legislative assembly, and by Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar in the legislative council.
“The NEET examination system severely affects the medical education opportunities of poor rural students and deprives state governments of the right to admit students to state government medical colleges. Considering the repeated irregularities in the NEET examination, the Union Government should amend the National Medical Commission Act, 2019 (Central Act 30 of 2019) to eliminate the NEET system nationally. Additionally, the Karnataka Legislative Council unanimously urges the Union government to immediately exempt Karnataka from the NEET examination and allow medical admissions based on the state-conducted CET,” the resolution stated.
“Medical Education Minister Dr. Sharan Prakash Patil has been consistently opposing the NEET exam by highlighting the massive irregularities and its adverse impact on the chances of underprivileged and rural students aspiring to enter the medical profession,” it added.
On Wednesday, the ruling TMC government in West Bengal moved a resolution in the West Bengal Assembly demanding the scrapping of NEET and the restoration of the previous system of individual state-conducted exams. The resolution was passed in the assembly.
Earlier on Tuesday, July 23, the Supreme Court declined to cancel the NEET-UG 2024 exam, recognizing that ordering a fresh NEET-UG for the current year would have serious consequences for over 24 lakh students who appeared for the exam.
The apex court was hearing a batch of pleas seeking to recall the NEET-UG 2024 results and conduct the examination afresh, alleging paper leakage and malpractices during the test.
