New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) Examination. The CM urged the PM to abolish NEET and restore the previous system of conducting this exam by state governments.
"I am constrained to write to you regarding the recent developments involving the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) Examination. The allegations of paper leaks, taking bribes by certain people and the officials involved in the conduct of the examinations, the opening of windows to accommodate certain students to apply for examinations, grace marks, etc. are some of the serious issues that need complete attention and require a thorough, clean and impartial probe. Such instances jeopardise the careers and aspirations of lakhs and lakhs of students who look forward to getting admission into these medical courses," the CM wrote.
"Such instances not only compromise the quality of medical education in the country but adversely affect the quality of medical facilities and treatment in the country. In this regard, this is also to point out that before 2017, the states were allowed to conduct their own entrance examinations, and the central government also used to conduct its examinations for admission into medical courses. This system was functioning smoothly and without many problems. This was better attuned to the regional curricula and educational standards. The state government usually spends more than Rs. 50 lakh per doctor on education and internships. Therefore, the state should be given the freedom to select medical students through the Joint Entrance Examination," she wrote further.
The Chief Minister, in her letter, highlighted that the decentralised system was later changed to a unitary and centralised system of examination (NEET) so as to take complete control of all the admissions in the country in the medical courses without any involvement of the state governments.
"This is completely unacceptable and violates the true spirit of the federal structure of the country. Further, the present system has led to massive corruption, which benefits only the rich who can afford to pay, while meritorious students belonging to the poor and middle class suffer and are the biggest victims," she added.
CM Mamata concluded her letter, stating that she "strongly" urges the centre to consider and take immediate steps to restore the previous system of conducting this examination by the state governments and abolish the NEET Examination. "This will help restore normalcy and confidence of the aspirant students in the system," she added.
Notably, amid the row over the NEET-UG and UGC-NET exams, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday registered a criminal case over the alleged irregularities in the conduct of the examination by the NTA and formed special teams to probe the matter.
As per the agency's FIR, certain "isolated incidents" occurred in a few states during the conduct of the NEET (UG) 2024 examination, which was held on May 5, 2024. The NEET (UG) 2024 Examination was conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on May 5, at 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 cities abroad, with over 23 lakh candidates appearing for the examination.
An unprecedented 67 candidates achieved a perfect score of 720 marks out of 720, which led to widespread protests in the country. The Ministry of Education said it has constituted a high-level committee of experts to make recommendations on reforms in the mechanism of the examination process, improvements in data security protocols and the functioning of the NTA.
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