19, Aug 2011

An all-India level examination will be held by the Medical Council of India (MCI) for admission in postgraduate medical courses across the country early next year. This will be the first common entrance test for postgraduate medical courses.
As per the MCI, the syllabus for the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET-PG) will be the same as that of the MBBS; further information in this regard would soon be available on its website. A notice that the MCI issued stated that “the Common Entrance Test (CET) for admission to Medical Postgraduate Courses across the country (NEET-PG) shall be held in Jan-Feb 2012 for admissions in the academic year 2012-2013.” It further clarified that  “the Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) would be based on the MBBS syllabus as well as the knowledge that needs to be acquired during internship. The distribution of questions, model questions, and method of tie breaking for ranking would be placed on the website in the due course,” the MCI said.

Every year about 40,000 students are admitted to undergraduate programs and some 19,000 for postgraduate courses. There are close to 300 private and government-controlled medical colleges in the country.

Various stakeholders have opposed the MCI’s decision to hold a national-level examination for admission in undergraduate and postgraduate courses.
The MCI’s rationale is that a student should be spared the hassle of taking over a dozen examinations for one medical seat, freeing the candidate from problems such as juggling clashing exam dates and paying multiple fees. Various student  bodies have demanded a single entrance examination system for PG medical courses on the lines of All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE).