Amidst incessant confusion over the modus operandi of medical admission across the states, the Union Grant Commission (UGC) in its notification issued on September 15 made National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) mandatory for admissions in deemed medical universities. As per UGC Regulation 2016, every university in the country is governed by the UGC norms.
It states that all universities whether private or state aided institutes offering medical courses should be conducted through common platform base on NEET merit list.
UGC prerogative over deemed medical universities:
- According to clause 6.3 of the UGC Regulation 2016, admission for medical courses should be conducted through Common test as deemed by the Medical Council of India (MCI)
- Section 20 (1) of the UGC Act 2016 made it very clear that all admission for medical courses organized by either state or central should be conducted through NEET
- UGC's September 15 notification states that if, for any reason common, counseling is not being held by the state government or if the deemed universities are not covered in the State Government's common counselling, the institutes should put up a transparent system of admission under which no student is denied or deprived from applying here
The notification prescribed NEET for the courses of both MBBS and BDS based on the NEET merit list
CBSE, which is conducting the NEET, is considered as statutory body under the Central government.
Clause 6.3 (i) of the UGC Regulations notified on September 15 states that, "Clause: 6.3 Admission of students to an institution deemed to be university, public or private, shall be mode in the following manner: (i) ln case the appropriate statutory authority has specified the process of selection for admission to any course, or programme of study in any institution which includes conducting competitive admission test for ascertaining the competence of any person to pursue such course or programme of study, in that case, no person shall be admitted to such course or programme of study in such institution, except through an admission test conducted by a recognized body or such institution or a group of institutions if such institution or group of institutions have been so authorized by the Central Government or a State Government or any statutory authority."