Minority Medical Colleges Have To Admit Students on NEET Scores, Rules Supreme Court

The National Eligibility Entrance Test or NEET, a single entrance test for all medical schools, must apply to minority medical institutions, as ordered by the Supreme Court on Wednesday. NRI Students who want to take admission to Medical colleges must have take the NEET.

The Supreme Court ruled that there should be no exception to the law establishing uniform entrance exams for both graduate and post-graduate medical courses.

“The rights available under Article 30 (of the Constitution which secures the right of religious and linguistic minorities to run educational institutions) are not violated by provisions carved out in Section 10D of the MCI Act (Medical Council of India Act) and the Dentists Act and Regulations framed by MCI/DCI,” the three-judge bench comprising justices Arun Mishra, Vineet Saran and MR Shah.

Over 15.9 lakh students have registered to study medicine throughout the country for this year’s entrance exam.

Christian Medical College, Vellore, which used to conduct its own entrance test, challenged the NEET admissions route, claiming that it violated the minority rights of the institution enshrined in Article 30.

The institute had maintained that its selection process was designed to find candidates who would be willing to serve in rural areas of the country, not just cities. Of this reason, it was said, the medical course was heavily subsidized.

The three-judge bench, however, claimed that NEET was implemented for better administration in the light of many instances of maladministration by a number of private colleges.

“The regulatory measures are intended to ensure the proper functioning of the institutions and to ensure that the quality of education is maintained and does not fall low under the guise of an exclusive right of management to the point of maladministration,” the judges ruled.

In its verdict, Justice Arun Mishra also set aside challenges to NEET from private medical colleges, deemed universities and state governments who wanted to conduct their own entrance tests for admission to MBBS and BDS courses.