State to hold entrance test for MBBS, BDS in July

Rifat Mohidin

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, May 26

The Board of Professional Entrance Examination (BOPEE) has finally decided to hold a separate Common Entrance Test (CET) for the MBBS and BDS aspirants of the state in July.

As the state governments have been exempt from the National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test (NEET) this year, Minister for Science and Technology Sajad Gani Lone today called on a meeting of BOPEE officials. It was decided at the meeting that a separate CET would be held in the state for the MBBS and BDS aspirants who were in a dilemma due to the NEET confusion.

“After the meeting today with the minister concerned, we have decided to hold a new CET for the MBBS and BDS courses. We will give some time to students for preparation and come up with the dates. For now, it has been decided that the state exams will be conducted to opt out of NEET,” said Ghulam Hassan Tantray, chairman, BOPEE.

Uncertainty over the CET and NEET prevailed for some weeks as there was no clarity at the Central level whether the ordinance would be signed. As NEET Part-II is scheduled for July 24, officials said the CET would also be held in the same month.

“The tentative date is July in which NEET is scheduled. The exam will not be held in June. We are looking into the modalities to work out everything,” said the BOPEE chairman.

The ordinance was signed by the President on May 24. For undergraduate courses, an exemption has been made for seats in government medical colleges and private institutions for this academic session. A month after the Supreme Court ordered that NEET be held this year across the country, the Centre moved an ordinance on May 20 to stay the order and defer NEET for a year to give students more preparation time.

As per the earlier Supreme Court order, the CET in the state was held on May 14 and 15 for admission to various medical and engineering courses except MBBS and BDS.