Starting next year, medical aspirants appearing for NEET (undergraduate) will not have to take a separate exam for admission to AIIMS and Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER). NEET will now be the single entrance exam to gain entry to all medical colleges in the country, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan told reporters on Friday.
Each year, approximately 15 lakh students appear for NEET. However, for admission to AIIMS and JIPMER, students have to clear separate entrance exams. “There will be a single entrance exam and common counselling for admission to medical institutions at undergraduate level including INIs (institutes of national importance) such as AIIMS,” a senior health ministry official said.
The official was briefing the media on the ministry's progress on setting up of the National Medical Commission (NMC) to replace the Medical Council of India.
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After the National Medical Commission Act was notified on August 8, the official said the ministry had sought nominations from vice chancellors and state medical councils for the constitution of the Medical Advisory Council (MAC) under the NMC. “We have received 23 nominations of vice chancellors and 22 nominations from state medical councils. Once the MAC is notified, nine members from state medical councils and 10 members from state/UT representatives will be selected as members of the NMC. The selection would be done through a draw of lots to be held on October 14,” he said. The ministry is targetting setting up of the NMC in the next year.
“Efforts are also being made to notify fee regulations (for 50 per cent of seats in private medical colleges and deemed universities) with effect from the academic 2020-21. Advance action on this has already been initiated by the board of governors of the Medical Council of India,” the official said. While states have been regulating fees for about 85 per cent of seats in private medical colleges, deemed universities have not been subject to any fee regulation until now. The health ministry has sent a formal letter to 40 such deemed universities to declare their fee fixation criteria, sources in the ministry said.