The first phase of NEET was held on May 1
The Supreme Court today refused to change its order on holding a single entrance test for admissions to undergraduate medical and dental courses across the country. The common entrance test, NEET, will go on as ruled earlier.
The first phase of the exam was held on Sunday for which nearly 6.5 lakh students appeared. The next one is scheduled for July 24.
Several states and private colleges had appealed against the common test. Some of them argued in court that the exam is only available in English and it puts students who are not proficient in the language at a disadvantage. The court heard the arguments but refused to put off the exam. It said the May 1 examination was conducted smoothly. It will hear the matter again on Thursday.
On last Saturday, a day before the exam, the Supreme Court had refused to entertain a plea by some students seeking modification of its last week's order empowering the Central Board of Secondary Education or CBSE to conduct the exam.
Those students had argued that the syllabi of the CBSE and the state boards are different and they would not have enough time to prepare for the May 1 examination.
Last week, the CBSE had presented a schedule for holding the exam for this academic session, after which the court ruled that NEET would replace the AIPMT exam held by the board. The AIPMT was to be held on May 1. Those students who had not enrolled for the May 1 exam, can appear for the NEET on July 24.
The result for both phases will be declared on August 17 and admissions concluded by September 30.
The common entrance test, puts an end to multiple applications and scores of different tests for students seeking admission to the MBBS or BDS course.