NEET: Centre mulls upper age limit for medical admission

Kolkata: The Centre is planning to introduce the maximum age limit for candidates seeking admission in medical colleges through the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) in the country.

The Union Health Ministry has recently asked the Medical Council of India (MCI), the highest regulatory body for medical education in the country, to fix 25 years as the upper age limit for general category students and 30 years for reserved category students.

A high-level meeting was held between the Union health ministry officials and the MCI officials, where MCI was asked to formulate a policy so that the age-limit can be implemented throughout the country. The theory the Centre is keen on bringing in had never implemented by the MCI since its inception.

The Supreme Court while hearing a case on the implementation of the maximum age limit in medical admission last year asked the Centre not to introduce any such age limit. The Centre had tried to introduce the age limit the previous year as well.

Those against it said that the introduction of age limit of candidates in medical admission is against the Constitution of India. Dr A K Maity, who had written a letter to the Prime Minister recently against the implementation of any age limit in medical admission, pointed out that while hearing a case relating to the upper age limit for LLB examination, the Apex Court in March this year ruled that there will be no age limit for LLB examination. It had also stayed Bar Council of India's (BCI) notification fixing age limit for law courses.

The Union health ministry also asked the MCI to provide appropriate amendment regulations in consultation with its Oversight Committee (OC). The OC was formed by the order of the Supreme Court for monitoring the activities of the MCI. The Centre had argued in the court that they were keen on implementing the age limit for medical aspirants to check cheating by a section of candidates in medical examinations. The Centre claimed that they had found that the comparatively older medical aspirants were found to be involved in cheating.

But the AIPMT/PD 2015 list published by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) said that two candidates out of total 53 candidates found to be involved in cheating were above the age of 25 while the rest were all below 25 years of age.