State Board students blame CBSE bias in new exam
As the deadline for the single Common Entrance Test for medical
and dental courses draws near, the Directorate of Medical Education and Research
is being flooded with complaints from around 1.5 lakh aspirants who will have to
study two distinctly different syllabi in a short period. This is because
the single CET is designed on the syllabus of the Central Board of Secondary Education,
but a majority of students in Maharashtra come under the State Board.
Of the 1.5 lakh students, at least 20,000 appear from Mumbai, and DMER has received
complaints from parents and even teachers, besides the students themselves.
State Medical Education Minister Vijaykumar Gavit recently met these students and
their parents and assured them that the State Government will challenge the Supreme
Courts nod for the single CET. The decision applies to undergraduate, post-graduate
and super-specialty courses scheduled to be implemented from May 2012.
SC had also announced that CBSE would be responsible for designing the test which
will be called National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET).
We have requested the State Government for permission to approach SC with our views
as many students are worried about implementation of the single CET, said Dr. Pravin
Shingare, joint director, DMER. The authorities, including the medical education
minister, have met the students and assured them of action, he added.
DMER had already written to the Central Government, but received a reply saying
that the SC ruling had to be followed.
The students are also worried as there is a vast difference between the State syllabus
and that of the Central Board. Besides, if for example a student from Maharashtra
gets admission in a southern state or vice versa, there are bound to be problems
like language, understanding of the area, etc. These issues also need to be looked
at before actually implementing the single CET, said Dr Shailesh Mohite, head of
forensic department, Nair Hospital.
However, many experts believe that the single CET will change the medical education
system for good. Precious time and money of students and their parents will be saved
as they will not have to appear for several entrance exams. Also, all the deemed
and private universities will come under one umbrella for admissions, thus bringing
in more transparency in the admission process, said a senior professor from the
JJ Hospital.
The Students:
Around 1.5 lakh students appear for CET for medical and dental courses from the
state.
What is Neet:
National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test is a single eligibility-cum-entrance test
for MBBS, postgraduate and super-specialty courses. Instead of appearing for various
entrance exams of the State and other private universities, medical students across
India will have to appear only for NEET.
Courtesy: Times of India
