NEET No More: West Bengal Proposes New Entrance Test for Medical Students.

West Bengal Assembly Approves Resolution to Abolish NEET

The West Bengal Assembly has taken a major step forward by passing a motion to do away with the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET), which was previously the required entrance exam for applicants seeking medical admission. The resolution calls for a new admission exam that is specifically designed to match the needs and circumstances of West Bengal and expresses the state's discontent with the current centralised system. On 24 July, the West Bengal Assembly voted to do away with the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET). The resolution also aims to replace it with a new entrance exam for those wishing to pursue careers in medicine. This happened a few days after the Karnataka Cabinet approved the introduction of a motion opposing NEET in the assembly. Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs for West Bengal, presented the motion denouncing the National Testing Agency (NTA) to the legislature. He claimed that NTA was unable to provide students interested in a profession in medical science with a free and fair entrance exam.

State Education Minister Bratya Basu states that the media informed him that the question papers worth Rs 30-40 lakh have been leaked.24 lakh children’s futures are ruined in this country for this we have to handle this test openly. He further stated that the announcement of the NEET results was rescheduled for June 4, the day of the Lok Sabha election results. He claimed that the NEET scam is only the beginning, everything was prearranged to hide another thing. The NEET "scam" has two stages, according to the state minister of education. Number fraud is one thing, and grace marks are another. In this year's NEET exam, 67 individuals scored 720 to appear first. However, there were only two or three this past year. Who received how many grace points is unclear," he continued.

During a Cabinet meeting on 22 July, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah approved the adoption of a resolution opposing NEET. It's expected that the resolution will be brought up during the current assembly meeting. Recently, DK Shivakumar, the deputy chief minister, requested the central government to do away with NEET and let the states administer their entrance exams. In addition, on June 24, Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a letter from Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal and leader of the Trinamool Congress, pleading with him to act quickly to abolish NEET and reinstate the previous system in which the state governments administered the exam. She had stated that normalcy and the aspirants' faith in the system would return with the restoration. Due to allegations of widespread misconduct, including question paper leaks, fraud, and impersonation during the esteemed test on May 5, the NDA administration at the Center and the NTA have been the target of anger and demonstrations in the streets and Parliament.

Editor’s Note:

The West Bengal Assembly has taken a historic step by passing a motion to replace the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) with a new, state-specific medical entrance exam. This action has created a heated debate between the merits of regional autonomy and diversity in education against the effectiveness of a centralised admission system. The West Bengal Assembly's decision to do away with NEET and look for a new entrance exam brings to light continuing discussions regarding how to strike a balance in India's educational system between centralised standards and regional autonomy. 

Skoobuzz hopes that this step of the government will create a fair and efficient path for future medical professionals and continues to be the key topic of discussion.