J P Nadda to brief President on NEET ordinance today
NEW DELHI: Amid the controversy over the ordinance to keep state boards out of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) this year, health minister J P Nadda will brief President Pranab Mukherjee on the issue on Monday.
Official sources said the President wanted the minister to clarify on the urgency to bring the ordinance. “Before the President signs the ordinance, he wants to be convinced that there is absolute necessity to bring it and the government must explain the urgency,” a source said. Mukherjee had earlier sought legal advice on the ordinance.
The ordinance, cleared by the Union Cabinet on Friday, is aimed at partially overturning a Supreme Court verdict that said all government colleges, deemed universities and private medical colleges would be covered under NEET.
Congress, which had opposed NEET being conducted this year, criticised the government’s decision to postpone the exam, saying private medical colleges were being favoured.
The SC had ruled that students would have to appear for NEET starting this academic session for admissions to medical and dental colleges in the country. More than 15 states opposed its conduct, citing reasons such as different syllabus and languages at a recent state health ministers’ meeting.
The next phase of the exam is scheduled for July 24. Nearly 6.5 lakh students have already taken the test in the first phase on May 1.
Once the ordinance gets the President’s nod, students of state government boards will not have to sit for NEET on July 24.
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