MBBS, BDS course admissions in TN to continue on marks obtained in higher secondary exams

A Bill was tabled in the Tamil Nadu Assembly today to allow MBBS and Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) course admissions to continue on basis of marks obtained in higher secondary exams rather than on the basis of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) examination.

Registrations for appearance in the NEET have been delayed by six weeks with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) dilly-dallying over the final syllabus for the exam.

The NEET was first introduced in 2013 when Maharashtra scrapped the medical entrance test.

Based on a petition filed in 2014, the NEET was scrapped by the Supreme Court and the state conducted its own CET based on the NEET syllabus, while in 2015 the MH-CET was conducted on the basis of state board syllabus.

In April 2016, however, the Supreme Court once again lifted the ban on NEET and proposed to conduct admissions to the MBBS, BDS and post-graduate courses through this one common test.

CET for medical admissions has since been scrapped in Maharashtra.

Earlier, a political blame game erupted between the ruling Congress and opposition BJP in Karnataka over non-inclusion of Kannada among the languages for holding the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for admission in medical colleges for the academic year 2017-18.