Mangaluru: Now, NRI must give test for admission in medical colleges. The private medical colleges will no longer misuse the NRI quota for giving out-of-turn admissions in the MBBS courses as the NRI candidates will also have to pass the common entrance test to qualify for admissions from the next academic session.
The Medical Council of India (MCI) has issued the new directive for admissions to all only on the basis of the test in view of the malpractice of filling up 15 per cent of the seats in MBBS against the NRI quota as allowed by the Supreme Court. Citing the Apex Court’s directives, the MCI has written to the health secretaries of all states that henceforth nobody will be allowed to be admitted in the MBBS course unless he or she has appeared in the entrance test and possesses the minimum educational qualification. Those coming from other countries will also be admitted only if they come in the merit list in the test, and the state governments have been asked to conduct the test for them.
From the Academic Year 2015-16 onwards, all admissions in NRI category shall be on merit which shall be determined through the Common Entrance Test,” states a decision taken in a January 16 executive committee meeting of the MCI. It refers to a Supreme Court order, and expressly states that merit cannot be compromised. Since NRI aspirants can be from different countries and come through varying qualifying examinations, it is essential to have a uniform evaluation of their academic ability, it notes further.
Resident Indian aspirants and their parents were demanding for long that NRIs seeking admission in MBBS (bachelor of medicine and surgery) course must go through the All-India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT) or state entrance exams and obtain marks above the specified cut-off of 50%. This move will ensure intake of only meritorious students into medical colleges. MBBS concerns human lives, and only students with a certain level of knowledge and aptitude should be allowed to pursue this degree.
The MCI has also stressed that the educational qualification of the applicants should be thoroughly checked before giving admission against the NRI quota. MCI makes it clear that there was no discrimination in the council requiring the NRIs to appear in test for the medical admissions as the Indians going abroad for studies have to also pass the entrance test.
