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The proposal for a separate entrance test for such institutes was rejected at the AIIMS’s recently held governing body meeting. MBBS admissions to all AIIMS and other institutes of national importance will continue to be through NEET.
On December 6, the AIIMS governing body, led by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, made the decision.
After deliberation, it rejected the proposal for a separate undergraduate entrance examination, distinct from NEET, for all AIIMS and institutes of National Importance.
“After deliberations, it was felt that the current practice of a combined entrance examination for all medical colleges be continued,” the minutes of the meeting read.
An Act of Parliament established the All India Institute of Medical Sciences as an Institution of National Importance (INI) in 1956.
Since the founding of AIIMS, the goal of Institutes of National Importance (INI) in the field of medicine has been to develop patterns of teaching in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education in all of its branches in order to demonstrate a high standard of medical education to all medical colleges and other allied institutions in India (AIIMS Act 1956).
Following that, more institutions were added, including PGIMER-Chandigarh, JIPMER-Puducherry (2008), and 21 newly established AIIMS for undergraduate and postgraduate education.
According to an official, the INIs have the mandate to continuously innovate, establish, and standardize newer methods of education at all levels, namely undergraduate, postgraduate, and super specialty, so that these can then be implemented in all medical colleges affiliated with Central, State, Deemed, and State Private Universities.
As a result, Section 37 of the National Medical Commission Act, 2019 expressly recognizes the INI’s medical degree (Schedule under 37) in relation to all other medical colleges in India under its purview.
AIIMS New Delhi used to hold an All-India entrance exam for admission to the MBBS program at all AIIMS in order to recruit the best students for its medical undergraduate degree (MBBS).
“This exam was conducted till 2019. With the promulgation of the NMC Act in 2019, admissions to the MBBS seats at all AIIMS were merged with the NEET- UG exam conducted by the National Testing Agency and the AIIMS MBBS entrance exam was stopped. As a consequence, since 2020, admissions to MBBS seats at all AIIMS are being done through the NEET-UG exam,” an official explained.
Entrance exams are used to determine admission to all colleges in the country for the three levels of medical education.
Currently, admission to PG (MD/MS) and super specialty (DM/MCh) programs is done through two separate exams. AIIMS New Delhi administers the INICET-PG (postgraduate) and INICET-SS (super-specialty) exams to all INIs.
The NEET-PG and NEET-SS exams are used for all other medical institutions’ corresponding exams. However, for MBBS seats, the separate exam for AIIMS and other INIs has been phased out in favor of a single exam (NEET-UG is being held).
“In pursuance of highest standards and maintain the spirit of innovation, the admission into postgraduate (INICET-PG) and super-specialty (INICET-SS) medical courses is now done through a Combined Entrance Test (CFT) administered by AIIMS, New Delhi.
This exam could include MBBS seats from all INIs and be known as the INICET-UG entrance exam, according to the official.
The rationale for re-establishing INICET-UG, according to the note, is that the three levels of medical education (undergraduate, MBBS, post-graduate, MD/MS, and super specialty, SS) are implicitly and critically interlinked.
To ensure a smooth transition, the entrance exam for all three levels must follow the same approach and standards as envisioned by the Parliament.
Furthermore, the NEET-UG exam serves over 80,000 MBBS seats and has a diverse set of stakeholders, including students and colleges. The massive organization task necessitates extensive logistics and, as a result, delays.
Furthermore, because of the large number of stakeholders (including Central, State, Deemed, and Private Universities), the conduct of NEET examination and process of counselling is often delayed due to litigations at various courts.
According to the note, a separate combined entrance test for undergraduate seats in INIs will protect them from events that affect the conduct of NEET.
Source:IE
