Hyderabad, November 10: Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Wednesday requested the Centre to exempt Andhra Pradesh from the proposed National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for the next two years.
The Chief Minister has already written a letter to Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad seeking exemption. He also directed the Special Chief Secretary – Health G Sudhir to pursue the matter with the Centre and get the exemption.
Kiran Kumar Reddy said the exemption would facilitate the State to make the necessary changes in the curriculum for Intermediate Course from the Academic Year 2012-13 and arrange revision of the text books and also give sufficient time for the students to prepare properly for the NEET in 2014.
In his letter, the Chief Minister said that the NEET would involve certain amendments to the AP Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admissions and Prohibition of Capitation Fee) Act, 1983, AP Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admissions) Order, 1974 and Dr NTR University of Health Sciences Act, 1986 under which the State’s Common Entrance Test (EAMCET) is held.
Further, the curriculum of the State Board may have to be revised as necessary after the curriculum for the test is finally notified by the Centre. The text books prescribed will also need to be got revised and printed in English and Telugu and made available to the students in time from the next academic year, i.e. by July, 2012. Presently, the students are following the State curriculum. EAMCET ranking is are based on 25 per cent weightage to the marks secured in Intermediate examination and 75 per cent weightage to the marks in EAMCET. This makes the students to concentrate on Intermediate course apart from preparation for entrance test.
“The batch of students joining in the year 2012-13 would complete the Intermediate Course by April, 2014 and it would be appropriate for them to appear for the NEET in 2014 as they would have studied Intermediate Course as per revised curriculum,” the Chief Minister said.
The Chief Minister said that at present the question papers for the EAMCET examinations are printed in Telugu and English. “I understand that in the proposed NEET, the question papers would be in English and Hindi. The vast majority of the students of the State who study Intermediate in Telugu medium would be subjected to a severe handicap, if they do not have the benefit of the question paper in Telugu,” he said.
Kiran Kumar Reddy said that Andhra Pradesh is not participating in the Central pool in which 15 per cent of Undergraduate seats and 50 per cent of Post Graduate seats are earmarked for students of the other States. As a result, for a vast majority of the students the choice is limited to Medical Colleges in the State only. A number of meritorious students from the state do qualify for the institutions like AIIMS, JIPMER, etc. “I understand that these institutions will continue to have their separate entrance tests. Therefore, there may not be much relief in terms of reduction in number of entrance tests the students of AP have to take,” said the Chief Minister in his letter.
The Chief Minister said that giving Andhra Pradesh exemption from the proposed NEET for the next two years would facilitate the State to make necessary changes in the curriculum for Intermediate Course from the academic year 2012-2013, arrange revision of the text books and also give sufficient time for the students to prepare properly for the NEET in 2014.
——Agencies