Mixed response for new move

Karnataka has high stakes in the ongoing tussle between Medical Council of India (MCI) and the Union Health Ministry over the single entrance examination.

At present, there are three examinations that students can take for Under Graduate medical-related courses (MBBS, BDS, Homeopathy and Aurveda). First, is the government-conducted Common Entrance Test -- popularly know as CET.

The second is conducted by the Consortium of Medical, Engineering, and
Dental Colleges of Karnataka (COMED-K). And the last is conducted by the Karnataka Religious and Linguistic Minority Professional Colleges Association (KRLMPCA).

The state government has adopted a cautious wait-and-watch approach to the MCI proposal. After all, the state has been successfully holding a centralised admission test for nearly two decades now.

In his response to MCI, the state Medical Education Minister S A Ramdas made three demands. First, the MCI proposal should not come in the way of the five per cent reservation for rural students in engineering and medical courses. Secondly, the MCI proposal must not eat into the state quota. “Last year, 42 per cent of seats were reserved for CET. This should not change,” he told Deccan Herald. And lastly, he demanded that the common test should cover both minority institutions and deemed universities.

A member of the MCI’s Board of Governors, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said there was no reason for the state government to fear National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET). “We will not interfere in the admission process at all. The MCI will hand over a list of eligible students from the state to CET, and the state governments can then implement their respective reservation and admission policies,” he said.

The private college representatives echo the concerns of the State Government. They also agree with the idea of a common entrance test, which determines the eligibility of a candidate and leaves their admission policies untouched.

COMED-K Executive Secretary Dr S Kumar agreed in principle with the idea of a single admission test, but put in a few caveats. He proposed that the MCI should determine merit through an all-India examination, while allowing the individual institutes to take into account the aptitude of the candidate. He said COMED-K would take a stand after the final notification is issued.

However, MCI may find the support of minority institutions hard to come by. The Karnataka Religious and Linguistic Minority Colleges Association has already said it would oppose any proposal ‘that would harm the interest of the minority communities’.

A member, on the condition of anonymity, said the Association was against any proposal that would not allow minority institutions to hold their own entrance test. Citing their constitutionally guaranteed rights for the running of educational institutions, the Association has argued that a single entrance test would impinge upon their rights to run institutions as they see fit. 

Deemed Universities also present a predicament for MCI, as most of them have resisted attempts to be brought into the CET fold.

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