NEET: Medical aspirants demand scrapping of reservation

Kolkata: Many medical aspirants from Bengal put forward their demand of scrapping 15 per cent reservation of seats in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for all India students. They viewed that this concept of reservation has lost relevance after the NEET was introduced.

The 15 per cent all India reservation was introduced in 1988 when the state governments used to conduct their own medical entrance examination and All India Pre-medical Test (AIPMT) had been conducted in the national level for the selection of candidates in these quota

seats.

Under the existing system, medical aspirants from other states can apply for the 15 per cent all India seats in any government medical college of Bengal. These seats are reserved in all the states as

well where an outside candidate can apply in these quota seats.

As a result many medical aspirants from outside states study MBBS in Bengal and go back to their home states after the completion of the course without serving here in Bengal even for a day.

"Medical aspirants from Bengal are deprived as outside candidates fill up the seats. They do not even serve here after becoming a doctor. The state government spends around Rs 20 lakh for making one doctor. The government does not charge money from these candidates. These candidates have no obligations and return to their native place," Nilanjan Bishnu, a medical aspirant from Nadia said.

Incidentally, the Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on repeated occasions in the past raised the same issue where she had been vocal against the Center's policy in which medical aspirants from Bengal are deprived. Banerjee had also expressed her dissatisfaction over the way these outside candidates return to their places without serving here.

"The purpose of all India reservation is no longer valid now as there is a single entrance across the country in the form of NEET. When AIPMT had been conducted for the election of all India quota seats as the CBSE syllabus those days did not match the syllabus of state level entrance. Those whose parents were into a transferable government job had faced problems if there was no quota in the state level entrance. But now it is a completely different scenario now. The Center conducts a single entrance examination now. The distribution of doctors among the states would be majorly hit if such trend continues," said Dr A K Maity, an expert in the field of medical education who was formerly attached to the SSKM Hospital.

Sushanta Pramanik, another medical aspirant from West Midnapore said: "We appeal to our Chief Minister to take up the issue with the Centre so that Bengal students are not deprived. The government should abolish the old practice."