NEET Alone to Decide MBBS Admissions

With the coming of National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) in the frame, the admissions to medical and dental colleges will be given solely on the basis of percentile score obtained by a student in the exam.

According to the state health department, apart from the minimum eligibility of 50% marks in the class 12th examination, the board examinations marks will no longer influence a candidate's position on merit lists in medical admissions.

Officials said that the NEET exams will solely determine the admission of a candidate and it won’t be changed unless the Centre intervenes in the matter.

Furthermore a separate merit list will be send by CBSE (conducting body of the examinations) to the state, and each state will be able to fill up their own quota following the merit list. There will be a common merit list at the national level for the 15% all India quota.

Though people are not much in favour of the same and health minister Nitin Patel said that he, along with education minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, will go to Delhi and ask the Union government to intervene so that relying solely upon NEET is not made compulsory for this year. The Gujarat government would also move for NEET conducted in Gujarati.

The state government will also ask the Centre to remove any cut-off criteria, or at least lower the cut-off criteria for students from Gujarat. "We will also make representation that the 85% seats in the state barring the 15% all India quota, be filled with students who have appeared for their examination from Gujarat," said Nitin Patel.

The Admission Committee for Medical and Paramedical Courses (ACMPC) had earlier prepared a merit list based on the marks obtained in the class XII examination and also the marks obtained in Gujarat Common Entrance Test in the ratio of 60% and 40%. This will now have no impact on medical stream admissions.