Much to the relief of thousands of NEET applicants, who were barred from applying this year because of an age cap of 25 years, the Supreme Court ordered the revoking of the clause. The MCI (Medical Council of India) was scheduled to present its final view on the matter and the court, after hearing the matter today, directed CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) to reopen the application window for all candidates.
One of the activists spearheading the petition in the Supreme Court, Dr Anand Rai informed PaGaLGuY that the court has given relief to students and they will be able to apply. “Judges gave justice in the student’s favor and directed CBSE to re-open the application window. Petitioners as well as non-petitioners, who are more than 25 years old will be able to apply for NEET 2017. This is a big win for us and we are happy for the students,” said Dr Rai, who is one of the whistleblowers of the VYAPAM scam.
Earlier, while talking to PaGaLGuY, MCI Executive Committee Vice President Dr C V Bhirmanandam had said that the MCI is willing to give a chance to all medical aspirants willing to take part in the examination. But later on, the stand of MCI changed drastically in the court and they opposed the idea by defending the age cap of 25 years for the medical entrance examination.
NEET will be conducted by CBSE in 104 test cities across the country on May 7. It is the single entrance examination for admission in MBBS/BDS courses across the country.