NEET: Admissions Sans Chaos

NEET, a single window for all medical admissions in the country brought in a whiff of transparency last year. Picture looks brighter as teething troubles seem to be over now…

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will conduct the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) 2017, on May 7. The single entrance exam providing admissions to MBBS/ BDS Courses in Medical and Dental Colleges across India was introduced through amendments made to legislations concerned in 2016. More than 11 lakh candidates are expected to appear for NEET 2017 at 104 exam centres across India.

All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) are the only institutions for which entrance tests will be conducted separately. Admissions to all other private and government medical colleges will be determined only on the basis of NEET 2017 scores. Unlike in 2016, no State governments will be granted permission to hold separate medical exams from this year onwards.

Common counselling

According to Medical Council of India, NEET 2017 will offer admissions to approximately 64,000 MBBS and BDS seats across 460 medical colleges in the country. This includes around 10,000 seats added for the upcoming year. Admissions to all of these seats will take place through a common counselling procedure, regardless of whether the college was established/run by the Central Government, State Government, University, Deemed University, Trusts, Societies, Companies, Minority Institutions or Corporations.