Mixed response to the Common Medical Entrance

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posted on 13 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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BANGALORE: The proposal of the Medical Council of India (MCI) to conduct a Common Medical Entrance Test from next year has receive..

BANGALORE: The proposal of the Medical Council of India (MCI) to conduct a Common Medical Entrance Test from next year has received mixed responses in Karnataka with the Medical Education Minister S A Ramadas criticising it and Consortium of Medical, Engineering and Dental Colleges of Karnataka (COMEDK) welcoming it.
Minister S A Ramadas informed The New Indian Express that he had raised three important issues on which MCI had not clarified through any forum or media. "I had written to MCI and the Union health ministry stating that common education proposed includes only allopathy. So, what about students wanting to learn the Indian systems of medicine, pharmacy, nursing and paramedical education?" questioned the minister.He pointed out that the standard of education differed from state to state and a single entrance exam would only deprive some students and isolate many others in the country. Issues such as inclusion of deemed universities within its ambit and a separate rank list for the states too need to be addressed, he said.

Meanwhile, executive director of the Consortium of Medical, Engineering and Dental Colleges of Karnataka (COMEDK) S Kumar said that the MCI's announcement was a welcome news for students.

MCI officials meanwhile said that only when the entrance exam was centralised the standard of education in all states would be uniform. Complaints such as high fees demanded by private institutions would also be solved and help the eight lakh students sitting for various exams annually and most importantly make medical education merit based, said MCI officials.

Last year, this proposal was rejected by several states including Karnataka. MCI shelved the idea following a stay sought by a resident of Tamil Nadu. He had cited that the state had abolished the system of entrance exams and streamlining admissions through an exam would defeat the purpose of education for all. However, a recent Supreme Court verdict gave MCI the go ahead to conduct the exams.