West Bengal Scraps NEET, To Introduce New Medical Entrance Exam

The West Bengal Assembly has passed a resolution to scrap the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) in the state. The move comes after Karnataka's similar decision to opt out of NEET.

The state government will introduce a new entrance exam for students seeking to pursue medical studies. The decision aims to provide more opportunities for state students and address concerns over NEET's centralised format.

West Bengal's decision follows Karnataka's similar resolution approved earlier on Monday.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court recently dismissed requests to cancel and re-conduct the NEET-UG 2024 exam. The court found no evidence of widespread cheating or question paper leaks. This decision supports the NDA government and the National Testing Agency (NTA), which faced criticism and protests over alleged malpractices in the exam.

Over 23 lakh students took the NEET-UG exam in 2024 for admission to medical courses. However, doubts arose when 67 students scored a perfect 720, an unsual number. After re-checking, the number of top scorers reduced to 61.

Tamil Nadu had earlier sought exemption from NEET in 2021, citing bias against rural students. Another attempt in 2017 was unsuccessful. Now, West Bengal and Karnataka have joined the opposition to NEET, introducing their own entrance exams.

A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra concluded the four day-long proceedings where they heard submissions from a battery of lawyers, including Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the NTA, and senior advocates Narender Hooda, Sanjay Hegde and Mathews Nedumapra.

Published on: Wednesday, July 24, 2024, 03:42 PM IST