One of the student bodies wrote a letter to Medical Council of India or MCI requesting to add Urdu as an option in National Eligibility cum Entrance Test or NEET . Earlier, MCI included Kannada in the list of regional languages. The government of Odisha has also requested JP Nadda, Health Minister to include Odia in NEET.
On December 21, 2016, MCI announced that NEET would be held in eight regional languages. Since then, various state governments and student bodies are sending representations to MCI regarding the inclusion of their regional language as an option in NEET.
Also read: - Kannada to be the 9th Language in Medical Entrance Exam NEET 2017
Now the representation has been made by Student Islamic Organisation (SIO), Maharashtra to include Urdu in the list of regional languages of NEET. Mohammad Ali, Secretary of SIO, indicated that the students who were trained in Urdu medium until secondary level will face difficulty in taking the exam in English. He stated that these students lack expertise in English and therefore MCI has to consider the recommendation and take the step as early as possible.
Also read: - Include Odia as an Option in NEET 2017, Dharmendra Pradhan Writes to JP Nadda
Ali further added there are 168 Urdu-medium science junior colleges in Maharashtra itself. SIO has submitted an online petition to MCI which has gained 1,300 signatures.
One of the professors of a reputed college exhorted that Urdu language is a part of the Hindustani culture. However, the role of Urdu had been marginalised post-independence. He revealed that around 30,000 students from Urdu medium are going to appear for the HSC examination and inclusion of Urdu in NEET is necessary.