Why Is Odisha Rejecting NEET For Medical Entrance?

On Monday, the Government of Odisha announced that it prefers to have Odisha Joint Entrance Exam(OJEE) for providing admissions to undergraduate courses in medical colleges to National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET).

Why is Odisha Rejecting NEET? What is the main reason behind it?

The secretary of Health and Family Welfare PK Mohapatra said "We prefer JEE to NEET as students of Odisha may not compete with others in national level. We require more Odia Doctors as they will serve in rural pockets of the state".

On stating that the state faces shortage of doctors, he said there is no point in allowing students from other parts of the country to study undergraduate course students in medical colleges. It is not in the interest of the state, he added.

Further, the Minister of Health and family welfare, Damodar Rout said the state has presently implemented a policy where the students are required to work in rural areas for certain period or pay penalty. "Once the students come through All India Medical Examination route, the state may not be able to make it mandatory for students to accept rural posting", he added.

He made his sentence clear to explain that the state's problem of scarcity in Doctors could not be solved if the government allows NEET instead of the State-level JEE.