The Supreme Court of India has directed the Medical Council of India to continue with its plan to conduct a single entrance test for MBBS and Post graduate courses in both private and government medical colleges across the country. The first test will be conducted on May 2012. The decision was taken by the Medical Council of India to help the students in reducing effort needed to take several entrance tests.

Challenges for students from Maharashtra

The students who plan to take the medical entrance test next year are worried with the directive of the Supreme Court to conduct one common medical entrance test. The students in the government schools inMaharashtra follows the state board (HSC) syllabus, while the common entrance test will be conducted based on the CBSE syllabus. According to experts this decision will severely affect the students from the rural areas.

Since the exam will be based on the CBSE syllabus, students who follow a state syllabus will have to study new books and will have to attend coaching classes or study on their own in order to take the common entrance test. Currently the medical and engineering entrance test in the state is being conducted by the Directorate of Medical Education and Research. If a student following state syllabus intends to take the common entrance test, then the student will have to start from scratch and will divert their attention from their class XII exams and thus class XII exam will become a second priority to students.

Another problem with this is that students in the urban areas will be able to attend entrance coaching classes while it will be difficult for those students in the rural areas. A student in the rural areas does not have facilities such as entrance coaching in their areas.

Experts are of the opinion that the state government is not ready to enable its students to take the common entrance test. According to the principal of a renowned college in Pune, the government should take necessary steps to incorporate a core syllabus which will be the platform for the common entrance test in the higher secondary schools.

Challenge for Bengali students

In addition to the effort they need to take to be familiar with the CBSE syllabus which forms the base of common entrance test, they need to improve their English skills. Students in West Bengal are in a state ofconfusion and worry as the Supreme Court has given a nod to conduct one common entrance test across India. In West Bengal, the state conducts the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination (WBJEE) for both engineering and medical entrance in the colleges.

The common entrance test that will be conducted will contain multiple choice questions which will be in English. So in order to read and understand the questions, students should have some knowledge in English. Even though the West Bengal government keeps on emphasizing that the students can write examination in local language, it is of little use as the candidate will have to just tick the right answer. Another challenge they face is that Bengali students will have to be familiar with scientific terms in English. In addition to this the difference in the syllabus will also become a problem as students have to start from scratch for preparing for the entrance test. The CBSE follows books based on National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). The Government of West Bengal has accepted the central government’s decision to conduct the common entrance test in English. According to Susanta Banerjee, Director of Medical Education, the central government has turned down their request to conduct the entrance exam in Bengali. So one thing is clear that the exam will be conducted only in English and not Bengali as the West Bengal government has insisted.

The chairman of CBSE says that there will be no provision that the question paper will be set in English and the students can give their answers in Bengali as all the questions will have multiple choice answers (MCQs). According to him the student need to just mark the answer on his or her choice.

The WBJEE chairman, Bahskar Gupta has said that he will write a letter to the higher education secretary Satish Tiwary to get a better understanding of the issue. He said that he has spoken to the state education minister Bratya Basu on the matter and that November first week has been set as the deadline.

The WBJEE chairman has said that he is aware of the confusion of the students about the syllabus to follow, whether CBSE or WBHS. He said that they plan to distribute the WBJEE forms from November and that he expects a decision from the government within this period.

The state education minister, Bratya Basu has said that the decision from the government side will be taken soon and that the matter will be taken to the chief minister Mamata Banerjee after the minister receives the letter from the WBJEE board.

The situation in Tamil Nadu

According to the directive from the Supreme Court, the Common entrance test will be applicable for both private as well as government colleges all over India except for the state of Tamil Nadu. In Tamil Nadu, the Madras High Court has imposed a stay on the common entrance test stating that the state has its own law governing the conduct of examinations which is approved by the President.

Eligibility for securing MBBS admission

According to the MCI, in order to secure an admission for MBBS course for an academic year, the candidate should score 50 per cent marks in each paper of the test conducted in the same academic year. For students from the SC, ST and OBC the minimum marks required is 40 per cent and for students with locomotory disability the minimum marks required is 45 per cent.

From 2012 there will be only one entrance exam each for both MBBS and medical post graduate courses offered in all 271 medical colleges.