Nowhere in the world a NEET like 3 hours test is the ONLY score for medical education. NEET also ignores the social justice commitment of the Government. Even in the USA, Australia and Europe there are quotas for Rural students and Indigenous people. The claim that NEET improve quality of medical education is non-sense second the capitation fees increased with NEET. So what purpose NEET is achieving ? Nothing.
Jake Sullivan (Yale University and Advisor to Mrs Clinton) stated that “public policy involves imperfect people, with imperfect information, facing deeply imperfect choices – so it’s not surprising that they’re getting imperfect results”. NEET is a typical example of an imperfect policy. On the public policy of medical school entrance, the Medical Council of India (MCI) rightly identified some real problems of multiple entrance tests, corruption and irregularities in admissions to medical courses. Unfortunately, for all these problems NEET is not the solution.
Its seems NEET ‘policy is designed by spin doctors who aim to keep our heads below the water with their self-serving agendas that prevailed over common sense’ (a quote by American Author Marilyn Ferguson). NEET may have limited use to solve the multiple entrance tests only for the 15% quotas for inter-state students. Corruption, as far as Tamil Nadu is concerned is eliminated with Year 12 marks-based selection for the 85% of the seats with state Medical Schools. This clearly indicates that NEET may be necessary for the 15% interstate students’ quotas and not for others.
Conceptual confusions:
There are conceptual problems with the current public policy of NEET that is likely to destroy the quality of medical education and work against the social justice by encouraging expensive coaching for NEET. First, the Year 12 mark is achieved after 12 years of systematic education both under the CBSE and other State syllabuses. Do the academic world and educationalists say that the CBSE and State Schools are incompetent to rank the students merit for medical entrance and the year 12 ranks and marks are useless? Do they also proclaim that NEET score (a three-hours test), tutored mostly by NEET coaching centres, are superior to the comprehensive year 12 exams marks achieved under CBSC and other state syllabuses? If that is the case, should we then abolish the grade 12 exams altogether and use an objective type NEET as the best outcome than the school teaching? By ignoring the Year 12 marks we are destroying the importance of and motivation for the year 12 studies. But, then claim that NEET tests the student on year 12 syllabus is ridiculous. Eminent educational institutions and academics across the globe has been considering the year 12 marks as a primary score for medical school admissions in the European Union, USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Turkey and others.
What educational researches reveal about entrance tests:
A study was conducted in Australia (Med J Aust 2008 Medical school ion criteria and the prediction of academic performance) about the relationship between medical ion based on year 12 marks, entrance tests (GAMSAT score) and interview. The result showed that year 12 score is most strongly associated with best performance of students in medical schools, followed by small impacts of interview score and written test (GAMSAT score). Another study in Australia (Med Teach. 2011 Dec; 33(12): Published online 2011 May 19; Admission selection criteria as predictors of outcomes in an undergraduate medical course: A prospective study) recommended a combined prior academic achievement with the assessment of communication skills in a structured interview as selection criteria for medical course.
A study in the USA (Acad Med. 2013 May88(5):The predictive validity of the MCAT exam in relation to academic performance through medical school: a national cohort study of 2001-2004 matriculants).The study concluded that a combination of School marks (+UGPAs) and written test (MCAT) total scores are strong predictors of academic performance in medical school through graduation. Further, these relationships generalize across medical schools.
S. Korean top Universities, called SKYE, admission is for students who have achieved a near perfect score on the CSAT (College Scholastic Ability Test) and top grades in school. Roy MP and Gupta H (2016, British Medical Journal) evaluated the NEET and concluded that NEET has resulted in increase in capitation fee of some medical colleges of India. There also NEET is a total failure.
The conclusion is year 12 marks are the best indicator of quality of better medical students than written test like NEET that has negligible impact on improving the quality of medical education. Then why so much waste of time and money by poor parents? Why unnecessary pressure on our students and parents?
NEET will destroy the quality of our medical education as it is based NEET scoring only. The NEET is not a well thought out policy and badly rushed and implemented without any social justice or research base. It’s like some advisors proposed NEET without any policy analysis beforehand. Students are treated like trial guinea pigs for some stupid policy of some mythical educationalists. NEET must be abolished because for no reason it cost more to parents and students and put them to unwanted pressure.
Can Courts interfere with the public policy of the Government?
Governments frame the public policy matter with social justice in mind and such matter is under the assembly and parliamentary jurisdiction. Supreme court cannot interfere with policy matter other than any constitutional concern. Being a concurrent subject State must make out clear case quoting international research and evidence based medical school admission and fight for justice for our students.
They all must sit together and develop a really evidence based policy for entrance than haphazardly rushing through wrong policy with disastrous implementation (like Demo and NEET). Courts in India, as rightly pointed out by the then PM Dr Singh, normally over stepping without jurisdiction into policy matters which is under the jurisdiction of the Parliament and Assemblies. At times, politicians love to take shelter under the extraconstitutional intervention of courts to circumvent public outcry. There is no honesty. In Tamil Nadu admission to medical schools were well systematized and there is no chance for corruption with year 12 ranking as the criterion. I do not see any valid reasons for NEET.
In summary:
1. First, Governments at Central and States are committed to the policy of social justice. Our rural and poor students lack learning environment and facilities like the elite and urban students. Under that contexts, NEET acts against the policies of social justice and inclusive development.
2. Secondly, NEET is not suitable as it re-test students in year 12 subjects but failed to assess any other attributes needed under the specific socio-economic conditions of each state.
3. Third, year 12 studies are not uniform across the countries for various reasons. Both the Central and State Governments must concentrate to make the year 12 education with comparable syllabus, facilities and funding.
4. Based on the above analysis, now let us conclude with appropriate policy options:
a. For the 85% quota to the State Medical Schools, NO NEED FOR NEET and let the States use the Year 12 mark for merit ranking. With computerised ranking the corruption is eliminated under this system as in Tamil Nadu and other states.
b. For the 15% National quota, a weighted score of Year 12 mark and a common entrance test not based on year 12 subjects of State or CBSE syllabus. This will eliminate multiple tests in each State.
c. For all private Medical Universities and Colleges, the admission must be strictly based on Merit list prepared by Computer using the Grade 12 marks.
d. The problem of capitation fees must be managed through legislation and control mechanisms.
There are two other serious policy conflicts in NEET and the CBSE acted without authority.
• First, the non-creamy layer (NCL) policy to be decided by the Central and State governments and CBSE assumed extraconstitutional authority and imposed non-creamy layer policy.
• Second, there is an in-service quota in medical admission to encourage Doctors to move to rural and remote areas. NEET silently abolished such quotas without any authority.
These are dangerous precedence as CBSE should strictly implement the Government policy and not to introduce public policy through back door. Stop this NEET nonsense. Nowhere in the world medical school admission is purely based on a three hours test like NEET that is based on private coaching.