National Eligibility cum Entrance Test/ NEET
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National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET)
SC Bench Scraps Single-Window Entrance Test
Dhananjay Mahapatra TNN
The Times of India 2013/07/19
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday quashed the single-window National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), dealing a body blow to uniform admission norms for MBBS, BDS and MD seats in all medical colleges and allowing private ones to frame their own admission norms and charge, in many cases, stiff capitation fees.
A three-judge bench, by a two to one majority, struck down the test as unconstitutional and ruled that the Medical Council of India (MCI) had no power to issue notifications in 2010 to regulate admissions to 271 medical colleges — 138 run by government and 133 under private management — offering 31,000 MBBS and BDS and 11,000 MD seats.
Chief Justice Altamas Kabir, on his last day before retirement, and Justice Vikramjit Sen held that the notification mandating NEET violated the rights of private medical colleges to carry on business guaranteed under Article 19 (1)(g) and the constitutional guarantee under Article 30 to the minority community to set up and manage educational institutions.
Justice A R Dave, in a strong dissent, stressed that there was no proper discussion on the draft majority verdict which appeared to have been rushed because the CJI was to retire soon. Four years ago, another SC bench had formulated and approved a single-window entrance test for all medical colleges.
Highlights: STRONG DISSENT BY JUSTICE DAVE
In 2-1 verdict, three-judge SC bench says Medical Council of India and Dental Council of India have no statutory authority to conduct common entrance test, control admissions to all medical colleges MCI and DCI only have a mandate under law to prescribe standards to ensure excellence of medical education
Judgment of CJI Altamas Kabir and Justice Vikramjit Sen quashes NEET, which was envisioned, formulated and approved in 2010 by a 2-judge SC bench to remove corruption in medical seat allotment. Justice A R Dave strongly dissents
Admissions made on basis of NEET this year will not be affected; pvt medical colleges had already taken exemption from NEET this year
Dissent note reflects call SC took in 2010
New Delhi: Outgoing Chief Justice Altamas Kabir and Justice Vikramjit Sen on Thursday held that the MCI did not have power to force a single entrance test for controlling admissions to the medical colleges as it had been created only for the purpose of ensuring “excellence of medical education in India”. To this majority verdict came a strong dissent note from Justice A R Dave who was, in effect, reflecting what justices R V Raveendran (since retired) and A K Patnaik had expressed in 2010 while pitching for a common test.
In differing with the views of Justices Kabir and Sen, Dave appeared to rely on the old proverb, “justice hurried is justice buried”. In 2010, the bench of Justices Raveendran and Patnaik had strived to bring together the MCI and CBSE on the same page for conducting NEET. The bench was convinced that a single entrance test would save poor and meritorious students , by sparing them the physical and financial stress of having of travel from one city to another to appear in multiple entrance tests in the hope of bagging a MBBS, BDS or MD seat in a college.
The single-window test was welcomed by students and parents because of transparency and the respite it offered from the ordeal that the aspiring doctors had to endure until last year when they had to file multiple applications and shuttle between cities across the country to take entrance tests medical colleges would hold without coordination. It had also curbed the room for the promoters of several medical colleges to extort hefty capitation fees. “We also have no hesitation in holding that the MCI is not empowered under the MCI Act, 1956 to actually conduct the NEET,” the CJI said on Thursday, articulating the majority view.
Against the 173-page judgment by the CJI, Justice Dave penned a 35-page dissent and said, “As the Chief Justice is to retire within a few days, I have to be quick and therefore, also short. Prior to preparation of our draft judgments we had no discussion on the subject due to paucity of time and therefore, I have to express my different views…
“It cannot be said that introduction of the NEET would either violate any of the fundamental or legal rights of the petitioners or even adversely affect the medical profession. In my opinion, introduction of the NEET would ensure more transparency and less hardship to the students eager to join the medical profession.”
LEGALLY SPEAKING
SC’s NEET logic contrary to constitution bench rulings
Dhananjay Mahapatra | TNN
The Times of India 2013/07/22
The Supreme Court quashed the single-window admission system for all medical colleges by faulting the Medical Council of India-prescribed National Eligibility cum-Entrance Examination (NEET) on three grounds.
The majority judgment, authored by former CJI Altamas Kabir and agreed to by Justice Vikramjit Sen, held that NEET violated Articles 19(1)(g), 25, 26 and 30 of the Constitution, which guarantees a citizen freedom to practice any profession and gives freedom to religious and linguistic minority groups to manage their religious affairs as well as educational institutions.
The bench said neither the Medical Council Act, 1956 nor the regulations framed there under empowered the MCI to formulate and enforce a singlewindow admission process for medical colleges. The court also said NEET could not ensure a level playing field given the disparity in educational standards in different parts of the country.
Unnikrishnan judgment [1993]
Since the Unnikrishnan judgment [1993 (1) SCC 645], the Supreme Court has been peppered with petitions by private medical colleges whose counsel look for interim orders just before admission time every year either for grant of permission from MCI to admit students or to step around the rules.
The issues dealt by Justices Kabir and Sen were touched upon by larger benches which decided important questions of law.
In the Unnikrishnan case, a constitution bench had said education could never be considered trade or commerce under Article 19(1)(g). “We are certainly of the opinion that such activity can neither be a trade or business nor can it be a profession within the meaning of Article 19 (1)(g). Trade or business normally connotes an activity carried on with a profit motive. Education has never been commerce in this country,” it had said.
T M A Pai [2002]
A decade later, a 11-judge bench in T M A Pai [2002 (8) SCC 481] dealt with the subject of ‘capitation fee’ and whether imparting education could be a trade or business.
It had said, “We, however, wish to emphasize one point, and that is that in as much as the occupation of education is, in a sense, regarded as charitable, the government can provide regulations that will ensure excellence in education, while forbidding the charging of capitation fee and profiteering by the institution. Since the object of setting up an educational institution is by definition ‘charitable’, it is clear that an educational institution cannot charge such a fee as is not required for the purpose of fulfilling that object.”
It also had hinted about regulating admissions to private colleges. “Excellence in professional education would require that greater emphasis be laid on the merit of a student seeking admission. Appropriate regulations for this purpose may be made keeping in view the other observations made in this judgment in the context of admissions to unaided institutions,” it said.
Inamdar case [2005]
In the Inamdar case [2005 (6) SCC 637], a seven-judge bench had said a common entrance test (CET) for admissions to medical colleges, including minority institutions, would be ideal and should be conducted by a credible agency, preferably the state machinery. It had also said that a test of this nature, akin to the quashed NEET, would not violate Article 19(1) (g) or the religious rights conferred in the fundamental rights chapter of the Constitution.
“CET is necessary in the interest of achieving the said objectives and also for saving the student community from harassment and exploitation. Holding of such common entrance test followed by centralized counseling or, in other words, single window system regulating admissions does not cause any dent in the right of minority unaided educational institutions to admit students of their choice. Such choice can be exercised from out of list of successful candidates prepared at the CET without altering the order of merit inter se of the students so chosen,” it had said, articulating a vision for transparency sans profiteering in medical education.
It had said that despite repeated rulings of the apex court against capitation fee, private colleges were indulging in it with impunity and felt that CET could curb this evil.
“If capitation fee and profiteering is to be checked, the method of admission has to be regulated so that the admissions are based on merit and transparency and the students are not exploited. It is permissible to regulate admission and fee structure for achieving the purpose just stated,” it had said.
If that is the position of law crystallized by the seven-judge bench, then how could Justices Kabir and Sen ask, “But where does it take us as far as those cases concerned which derive their right and status under Articles 19(1)(g), 25, 26, 29(1) and 30 of Constitution? Can rights guaranteed to individuals and also religious and linguistic minorities under the said provisions of the Constitution be interfered with by legislation and that too by way of delegated legislation?”
Dr Preeti Srivastava case [1999]
The majority judgment’s view that MCI had no jurisdiction to devise and enforce NEET also stands on doubtful legal grounds as a five-judge constitution bench in Dr Preeti Srivastava case [1999 (7) SCC 120] had clearly held that regulations framed by the council were binding on states.
Can it be said that MCI, set up to ensure excellence in medical education, is barred from infusing transparency and merit into the process for intake of students? Lastly, the majority judgment in the NEET case said, “In a single-window competition, the disparity in educational standards in different parts of the country cannot ensure a level playing field.”
Success ratio of CBSE vis-a-vis state boards
2019-22
Oct 17, 2022: The Times of India
From: Oct 17, 2022: The Times of India
New Delhi : A four-year (2019-2022) study of the NEET-UG scoring pattern has revealed that though CBSE still has a higher share of candidates scoring 324 marks and above, the average base score for the period, including for reserved categories, for admission to medical colleges, the number of aspirants from state boards making the grade has also been on the rise with West Bengal and Rajasthan among states faring the best.
The gap between candidates scoring in the mark 324-720 marks range between CBSE and state board during the period narrowed from 14. 9 percentage points in 2019 to 7. 5 points in 2022 in West Bengal while for Rajasthan it came down from 10. 4 percentage points to 5. 9 points. In majority of the state board cases, the share of candidates scoring in this mark range where chances of getting a seat is high, has increased since 2019.
In absolute numbers, candidates in attendance (17,64,571) recorded a new high this year. The share of CBSE candidates appearing for the medical entrance test increased from 23. 7% to 26. 1% in the past four years while the number of state board candidates decreased from 76. 3% to 73. 8%.
Besides West Bengal and Rajasthan, states like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Odisha, Kerala and Goa have also seen significant reduction in the gap between CBSE and their restive boards in the last four years. Goa saw the gap reducing from 17. 9 percentage points in 2019 to 9. 5 percentage points in 2022. In case of Odisha, thegap has come down to 4. 6 percentage points from 9. 8. For Tamil Nadu, it was a see-saw with the gap between CBSE and the state board going up from 17 percentage points in 2019 to 21. 8 points in 2020 and again coming down to 16. 9 percentage points in 2022.
Former CBSE chairperson Ashok Ganguly said there is a myth that only students from national boards are meritorious. “In fact, 40 years back from now, it was the state boards which were doing better than national boards. With the test now being conducted by NTA, there is a renewed confidence amongst the state board students that they can also perform better. ” Giving the reason for the improved performance by state boards,Ganguly said, “Some of the state boards revisited the curriculum in the past few years and their assessments are not being inflated. With the test being conducted by NTA, the questions are now based on the core curriculum which gives level playing field to students of all boards. ” “As the test now being conducted in various languages, this provides good opportunity to state board students to excel,” he added.
Educationist Francis Joseph sees this as a result of the market forces due to which states are customising their board assessments. “First market forces corrupted parents and now the schools. Most of the coaching classes are getting streamlined into mainstream education,” he said. Most states, however, see this trend as an outcome of their concerted efforts. “Around six years back, we had altered our question papers to bring them on par with those nationally. Also, NEET was new to students and now there is more awareness about what is required. And students are generally becoming more competitive,” said Bhagirath Shetye, chairman of Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Secondary Education.
A few states where gap has increased include Andhra Pradesh (-4. 6 to 4. 2percentage points), Bihar (11. 1 to 13. 5 percentage points) and Telangana (-1 to 5. 2percentage points).
Trends
Repeat candidates
2023, 2024
July 6, 2024: The Times of India
Bengaluru : The number of repeat NEET-UG candidates seeking entry into medical and dental colleges in Karnataka nearly doubled from 28,064 in 2023 to 53,616, reflecting the direction provided by last year’s results when those repeating the test outperformed first-time aspirants. Of the 11,000 MBBS and BDS seats at stake in the state in 2023, repeat candidates filled 7,012, reports Sruthy Susan Ullas.
Unlike JEE, there is no bar on the number of attempts an aspirant can make to clear NEET. Data suggests strong competition, with nearly 24 candidates for every medical seat. “Repeaters land more seats because they are dedicating more time exclusively to cracking the entrance test,” said H Prasanna, executive director of the Karnataka Examinations Authority.
Undergraduate/ UG
2020
Manash Pratim Gohain, Nirupa Vatyam & Shoeb Khan, October 19, 2020: The Times of India
From: Manash Pratim Gohain, Nirupa Vatyam & Shoeb Khan, October 19, 2020: The Times of India
Northern and southern states continue to dominate National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) UG 2020 results with states like Delhi and Haryana registering over 70% qualification with respect to candidates appearing from these states.
From the south, while Kerala and Karnataka continued to have over 60% qualification, the biggest drop registered this year were by Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Delhi recorded 75.5% qualification with respect to candidates appearing from the region, the highest among states.
Delhi sees 75.5% success rate in NEET
Delhi recorded 75.5% qualification with respect to candidates appearing from the region, followed by Haryana with 72.9%. All seven states of north India, including Rajasthan, UP, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, registered over 60% qualification percentage. Over one-third of the toppers are also from these states.
Rajasthan saw 68.6% candidates out of 95,752 qualify who appeared from this region. But all-India topper Soyeb Aftab, who spent two years in Rajasthan for coaching and appeared for his NEET in Kota, was shown as a top ranker from Odisha in state toppers’ list. The success story of Rajasthan does not lie in the coaching industry as majority of the candidates are domicile students from state. Experts feel that success in the state is from schools affiliated to Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education as the all-India fourth ranked Vineet Sharma of Dausa said the school syllabus helped him in scoring well over others even without any coaching.
A downside this year has been the performance of candidates from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the states which have been among top performing regions. Experts cite lack of continuous monitoring and students being stuck in remote areas with no resources as main reasons for comparatively fewer students qualifying the exam this year.
2024
Manash Gohain, June 5, 2024: The Times of India
New Delhi: A record 67 candidates were joint toppers with a perfect score of 720 in this year’s NEET-UG exams to get admitted to undergraduate medical courses. The toppers include 53 male candidates, of which 16 are from OBC (non-creamy layer) category, five from economically weaker general section, and two from SC category. The number of female toppers stood at 14. The competition got tougher this year with higher cut-offs across categories — 13.2 lakh candidates qualified this year, compared to 11.4 lakh in 2023. The number of candidates who appeared for the test also increased significantly from 20.4 lakh in 2023 to 23.3 lakh this year. The National Testing Agency (NTA) announced the results.
Rajasthan churned out 11 toppers, followed Tamil Nadu (8) and Maharashtra (7). Statewise, once again Uttar Pradesh (1.6 lakh) has the highest number of qualifiers, followed by Maharashtra (1.4 lakh) and Rajasthan (1.2 lakh). Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are the two other states in top five with over 89,000 candidates each qualifying the exam, while from Kerala over 86,000 qualified.
Of the 13.2 lakh qualifiers, 58.4% are females. In continuation of the trend in the past, over 2.2 lakh more female candidates than males qualified this year. Last year, the difference in favour of female candidates was 1.6 lakh. With the aspirants scoring high, the range of qualifying marks this year increased significantly as compared to 2023. While the range of qualifying marks for general and EWS category had been set at 137-164 as against 120-137 in 2023, the cut-off for OBC, SC and ST increased to 163-129 from 136-107 last year. Similarly, the qualifying marks range for general/EWS PwD candidates is 163-146, up from 136-121 in 2023. This year’s qualifying marks range for disabled among OBC and SC candidates is 145-129, up from 120-108.
NEET-UG 2021 was conducted on May 5 with an attendance of 97%. The results were announced in less than a month, compared to 37 days in 2023. For the 15% all-India quota seats, NTA in a statement said, “DGHS will conduct counselling for 15% all-India quota seats, deemed universities, central universities, seats of ESIC and AFMC, BHU and AMU. Candidates may visit the website www.mcc.nic.in for further information.”
Languages preferred
Manash Gohain, November 4, 2020: The Times of India
While the Centre plans to offer JEE (Main) in regional languages too, results of NEET-UG 2020 reveal that of the nearly 7.7 lakh candidates who qualified, over 1.3 lakh took the test in 10 Indian languages, with 25,701such students among the top 1 lakh.
Apart from English, NEET-UG is offered in 10 Indian languages — Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Marathi, Odia, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu. Experts say if these exams had not been conducted in regional languages, many candidates would have struggled to qualify as they may have not have been comfortable in English.
Welcoming the plans to offer JEE (Main) in regional languages, experts said this would help candidates who study in vernacular language at the senior secondary level. Educationist and CBSE exchief Ashok Ganguly said since admission to engineering colleges is based on one exam, students in vernacular medium shouldn’t be deprived of a level-playing field. “But these students will definitely find it difficult to appear in JEE (Advanced). It would be better to fix some state quota for colleges like NITs and their exam be held separately with option to appear in regional languages but for national quota, the medium should only be English. In any case, a student from vernacular medium will find it difficult to continue in IIT. So JEE (Advanced) must be continued in English medium.”
