Chennai: Medical Council of India (MCI) has proposed a single national common entrance test for admitting students to MBBS course, in all categories of institutions, to the Central Government.
The revision proposed by MCI reads: “In institutions with an all-India character - including deemed universities, the ones owned and managed by the Central government, state government, universities, public sector undertakings, local self governments, trusts, charitable societies and all other organizations - admissions will be based upon the merit obtained at the competitive National CET conducted by an authority designed by the government of India.” All other existing selection criteria would cease to exist.
The recommendation comes at a time of growing concern about the disregard of merit in the admission procedures in most deemed universities and private medical colleges. The Union Health Ministry is probing MCI’s recommendation at present. The Union Human Resource Development Ministry has already announced a plan to clean up institutions of higher education and improve access to meritorious students, as a part of its 100-day agenda.
Even though the agenda is silent on the need for a CET, the Professor Yash Pal Committee on Renovation and Rejuvenation of Higher Education had recommended that a national testing scheme for admission to universities, on the pattern of the GRE, be evolved for aspirants of university education.
