States stall govt plan for medical entrance board

The Centre’s move to introduce a joint entrance examination board for admission to national and state medical government colleges has hit a roadblock with some states refusing to be part of it. Some have laid down pre-conditions before participating in it.

The Centre’s move to introduce a joint entrance examination board for admission to national and state medical government colleges has hit a roadblock with some states refusing to be part of it. Some have laid down pre-conditions before participating in it.

The examination was to be conducted in accordance with March 2011 Supreme Court order directing the Medical Council of India (MCI) to issue a notification to hold the common entrance test.

As per the apex court’s order, the test was to be introduced in the next academic session. With several states objecting to it and some laying down conditions, the government now wants to hold the test in 2013.

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It filed an application before the Supreme Court on Thursday seeking extension of the time from 2012 to 2013.

The single-window system was aimed to make it easy for medical aspirants facing a daunting task of taking more than five tests to secure a seat in a medical college.

However, a pre-condition by the West Bengal government to make Bengali a mandatory language in the common test has left the Centre in doldrums. Even Kerala has shown its willingness to be part of the board with the condition that the state is permitted to follow its existing reservation policy.

Governments of Pondicherry and Tami Nadu do not want to be part of the national eligibility-cum-entrance test.