The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) is an all-India entrance examination that is conducted for admission to medical and dental courses in government, private and deemed universities. Though the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had earlier announced the removal of the upper age limit to appear in NEET, a bill was recently introduced to do this, bringing it into effect. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has largely been against this and wants the upper age cap retained.
According to a report in The Indian Express, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has proposed an increase in the upper age limit for NEET aspirants. This decision was taken after it was found that the upper age limit stipulated by the Supreme Court (SC) mandated that only students up to 25 years of age could have applied for this examination. The Minister of State (MoS) health and family welfare, Anupriya Patel, made this announcement in an interview.
If you are above the age of 25 and aspiring to become a doctor, you will no longer be allowed to sit for the entrance examination. The Allahabad High court has banned all attempts by candidates over the age of 25 who are aspiring to become a doctor or want to apply for posts in any medical college from writing the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) 2017. This was ruled as discriminatory against those with higher educational qualifications who wish to study more and better their career options when it comes to choosing a profession.
In the past, India has not had a very encouraging policy for the differently abled. One such example is the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). There was a rule in the NEET examination that no aspirant above the age of 25 can appear in the examination. This created uproar in many quarters as they felt that this rule was discriminatory against students who are struggling to get an MBBS or BDS seat in a medical college.
India is a developing country, and we are still very far behind in this regard. We have not provided enough facilities for handicapped students, which is a shame since there are many of them who wish to pursue medicine as a career.
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, those in the medical sector were facing several difficulties. New board examinations, National Eligibility and Entrance Tests (NEETs) and state entrance exams have left many students feeling overwhelmed, which isn’t good for their health. The issue of NEET exams is another concern for many Tamil students, who aren’t happy with this new change.
In a time when doctors are difficult to find, and healthcare needs are at their peak, this move from the government makes sense. Why have students made such a huge investment to study medicine when they can study other subjects that don’t require so much studying? It diminishes those who go into medicine when it shouldn’t.
The government made an excellent decision. So many students want to study medicine, but the country needs to focus on other fields as well. And since finding doctors is so difficult, why not let them study something else? It dismisses their reputation if they don’t study medicine, but it shouldn’t be like that.
As the healthcare industry is going through a shortage of doctors, we can see why the government is concerned over how many people are allowed to enter medical school. That is why they are not allowing more students in until more doctors graduate. We agree that this move makes sense.
We’re so excited about this. For years, doctors have been overworked and underappreciated, and now, they’ll be more stable and looked after. This will create a ripple effect as we are able to provide better health care to all Indians. This change has been a long time coming, and it’s going to make an impact on our country.
Medical education should be a right, not just for the lucky few. We believe everyone deserves an equal opportunity to learn and be in a safe environment while they do so. We provide access via mobile phones so that students around the world can get quality access to medicine wherever they are.
In sum, there is no other way to paint this proposal as anything less than beneficial. It will help remove the age cap while also bringing in more diversity. Somehow, someway, this can only benefit the medical establishment here in India. That being said, NEET is supposed to be all about meritocracy anyway, and passing a test should be the sole requirement for entry into a field of medicine. So it does beg the question – if you are worried about ageism, why not scrap the entrance exam altogether?
It is a good policy proposal that would allow medical education to be more accessible to talented individuals who have the potential to contribute significantly to improving healthcare delivery both within and outside of India. There are doctors and specialists in other fields like nursing, pharmacology, and allied streams who are also up for joining the Indian medical community.
I believe that there are a number of people who have been unfairly disqualified from the BMI NEET Exam, and have also been arbitrarily denied entry into medical school due to their age. The government must address this issue.
Overall, it’s about time to modernize our nation’s medical education policies and make them more accessible to the future doctors who will be serving Indian citizens. In doing so, we have an excellent chance of making our healthcare system more effective than ever before. Let’s hope that 2017 will be the year that these reforms are finally made.