NEET - President questions the ordinance

The Centre has just passed an ordinance regarding the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) that defers the exam to the next academic year and exempts the States from following the rules and regulations set up under NEET. The aforesaid ordinance has been issued after the States strongly expressed their will to continue with separate entrance exams, instead of NEET, at their respective private medical colleges.

The ordinance lets the private colleges in different States hold their own entrance exams as they have been doing so far. And the students will be able to prepare for the entrance exams by reading the syllabus prescribed by the State Boards. Another relief for the students, who want to write the test in their regional languages, is that they would be able to answer the questions in their native language.

The issuance of the ordinance has been questioned by Pranab Mukherjee, President of India. The President has asked the Union Health Minister, Nadda to explain the reasons behind issuing the ordinance and has also sought legal advice to understand the purpose behind excluding the States from conducting NEET.