A day after the Supreme Court said there would be no re-test for NEET since it was not conclusively proved that the sanctity of the examination had been breached, West Bengal joined the ranks of States who want to do away with the all-India medical entrance exam.
The West Bengal Assembly passed the resolution to scrap the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) in the State. The ruling Trinamool Congress enjoys a brute majority in the House.
The State Government will introduce a new entrance exam for students seeking to pursue medical studies. The decision aims to provide more opportunities for the students of the State and address concerns over NEET’s centralised format.
State Education Minister Bratya Basu said they were never in favour of having an all-India examination but were persuaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was then the Chief Minister of Gujarat.
“When the exams were handed over to the Centre in a brazen attempt to dismantle the federal structure, there were protests from our side,” Basu said.
“The then Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi had said that NEET exams should not be handled by the Centre,” he added.
“Those who are bringing this resolution are neck deep in corruption in the education system.
Trinamool and transparency have no connection at all,” countered State BJP leader Sankar Ghosh.
The State’s move came a day after the Supreme Court said there would be no re-test for NEET, since it was not conclusively proved that the sanctity of the exam has been breached.
Over 23 lakh students took the NEET-UG exam in 2024 for admission to medical courses. However, doubts arose when 67 students scored a perfect 720, an unusually high number. After re-checking, the number of top scorers was reduced to 61.
Last month, the Tamil Nadu Assembly unanimously passed a resolution urging the Centre to scrap NEET and allow State Governments to undertake medical admissions based on Class 12 marks, as was done before NEET’s implementation.
Tamil Nadu had earlier sought exemption from NEET in 2021, citing bias against rural students. Another attempt in 2017 was unsuccessful.
Now, West Bengal and Karnataka have joined the opposition to NEET, introducing their own entrance exams.