SC permits Goan students to appear for NEET-II
GOANEWS DESK, PANAJI | 09 May 2016 21:20 IST
Supreme Court has finally allowed Goan students to appear for NEET-II examination, provided they give up the score of NEET-I.
Goa Advocate General Atmaram Nadkarni clarified to goanews.com that Goan plea has been considered positively by the Supreme Court and allowed them to score better at NEET-II on 24 July.
However, Supreme Court has rejected the plea of considering state level common entrance tests any more.
Nadkarni also said a section of national media has misinterpreted the Supreme Court order, due to which panic has struck among the students seeking admission for medical studies.
One such news was also published by goanews.com, giving link to the news published by India Today.
AG Nadkarni explained the whole judgement as follows:
As per the order passed today, candidates who had appeared for phase I of the exam will be allowed to appear for phase II. However, this would be subject to them giving up candidature of phase I.
In other words, if a candidate, who had sat for phase I, sits for phase II, his score/rank secured in the phase II exam alone would be considered for his admission.
“Only other contention relates to perceived hardship to the students who have either applied for NEET-I but could not appear or who appeared but could not prepare fully thinking that the preparation was to be only for 15% All India seats and there will be further opportunity to appear in other examinations.
To allay any such apprehension, we direct that all such eligible candidates who could not appear in NEET-I and those who had appeared but have apprehension that they had not prepared well, be permitted to appear in NEET-II, subject to seeking an option from the said candidates to give up their candidature for NEET-I.
It would be open to the respondents to reschedule the date of holding NEET-II, if necessary. To this extent the earlier orders stand modified.”
The Court has given the CBSE and the MCI the freedom to change the date for holding phase II.
Interestingly, the Committee comprising former Chief Justice RM Lodha appointed to supervise the functioning of MCI will oversee phase-II of NEET.
Further, the Common Entrance Tests conducted by different States will not be allowed. The Court ruled that NEET, being the creation of a Central legislation overrides States entrance exams.
“Prima facie, we do not find any infirmity in the NEET regulation on the ground that it affects the rights of the States or the private institutions. Special provisions for reservation of any category are not subject matter of the NEET nor rights of minority are in any manner affected by NEET.
NEET only provides for conducting entrance test for eligibility for admission to the MBBS/BDS course. We thus, do not find any merit in the applications seeking modification of order dated 28th April, 2016.”
