IMA welcomes move to hold common test for medical courses

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has welcomed the decision of introducing a common entrance test for both undergraduate and postgraduate medical courses in India and said the move will help add transparency to the system.
Health Ministry had recently approved the Medical Council of India's (MCI) recommendation for an amendment to the Indian Medical Council (IMC) Act, 1956 which will empower it to hold a common entrance test for all medical admissions.
A draft cabinet note by the Health Ministry has been circulated among the ministries.
Under the existing Act, the MCI can only finalize the medical curriculum, and it were the individual colleges and states that created their own procedures for admissions.

"IMA has supported the common entrance examination being implemented since the then President of MCI Dr Ketan Desai had constituted a two-person expert group to look into the gross difficulties that the learners were facing due to the multiple entrance test for admission to MBBS course conducted by the various examining authorities in April 2009.
"We welcome this step and believe that it should be implemented at the earliest since it will help bring transparency to the system," KK Aggarwal, Secretary General of IMA, said.

The expert committee set up by Desai, in a detailed report, brought to fore the issue that there were more than 90 entrance examinations conducted annually for admission to the MBBS course in about 300 medical colleges in the country.

The exams are held during a specified period of time in accordance with the schedule of admissions prescribed by a regulation by the MCI in terms of the pronouncement made by the Supreme Court.
As a result it was humanly impossible for a student to appear for them due to constraints of time, travel and affordability. Numerous complaints of irregularities, manipulations and cheating were also received by the Council.
The committee, therefore, recommended that there should be a single or unitary National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) by a designated authority.