‘Abolish NEET and restore the previous system’: Mamata Banerjee writes to PM Modi
New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding NEET. In this letter, Mamata Banerjee has demanded the abolition of NEET. Bengal CM has written that NEET should be abolished and the old system should be implemented. It is noteworthy that under the old system, NEET examination was organized by the state governments.
In the letter, Mamata Banerjee wrote that ‘There are serious allegations of paper leak in NEET exam, taking bribe by the officials conducting the exam, giving grace marks to the students etc. These allegations need immediate attention and investigation with complete impartiality. The future of lakhs of students is getting affected due to these incidents. Such incidents not only compromise the quality of medical examination in the country but also have an adverse effect on the health services in the country.’
Mamata Banerjee demanded that the old system of NEET be implemented, under which the state government conducts the exam. She wrote that before the year 2017, the states were allowed to conduct their own entrance exams for admission to medical colleges and the central government also conducted the entrance exam. This system was working smoothly and there was not much problem in it. The state government usually spends about Rs 50 lakh on each doctor, in such a situation, the state government should get the freedom to select medical students.
Mamata Banerjee alleged that the central government has centralized the entire NEET exam and has established its complete control over admissions to medical courses without the involvement of state governments. This is completely unacceptable and a violation of the federal structure. The Bengal CM also alleged that the current system has promoted corruption and only the rich have benefited from it and the poor and middle class students have suffered the most from it.
It is worth noting that there are allegations of rigging regarding the NEET exam conducted by NTA. It is alleged that the NEET paper has been leaked and some arrests have also been made in this case. The CBI is investigating the NEET paper leak. The strings of the alleged paper leak of NEET are being linked to many states including Bihar, Maharashtra. The Supreme Court is also hearing the matter, but the Supreme Court has not yet banned the counseling of the exam. This is the reason why lakhs of students are stuck in doubt despite passing the medical entrance exam.
