The suggestion for a separate entrance test for institutes was rejected at the recently convened governing body meeting of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).On December 6, the AIIMS governing committee, which is chaired by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, made the decision.
After consideration, the committee decided against the idea of holding a unique undergraduate entrance exam, different from NEET, for all AIIMS and other institutions of national importance. The minutes of the meeting read, "After deliberations, it was felt that the current practice of a combined entrance examination for all medical colleges be continued,” stated a report by PTI.
In 1956, a Parliamentary Act designated the All India Institute of Medical Sciences as an Institution of National Importance (INI). The goal of Institutes of National Importance (INI) in the area of medicine, starting with the construction of AIIMS, is to design teaching patterns for undergraduate and postgraduate medical education in all of its branches to show that a high standard of medical education is possible in India (AIIMS Act 1956).
Later, more institutions were added, including 21 newly built AIIMS for undergraduate and graduate medical education, PGIMER- Chandigarh, JIPMER, Puducherry (2008), as reported by PTI.
An official stated that the INIs have the responsibility to continuously establish, innovate, and standardise newer educational approaches at all levels, including undergraduate, postgraduate, and super specialty, so that they can be used in all medical colleges affiliated with central, state, deemed, and state private universities. As a result, the INI's medical degree (Schedule under 37) is distinctly recognised in Section 37 of the National Medical Commission Act, 2019 in comparison to all other medical colleges in India that fall within its scope.
AIIMS New Delhi used to have an All-India entrance exam for admission of students to the MBBS programme of all AIIMS in order to enroll the top calibre candidates. "This exam was conducted till 2019. With the promulgation of the NMC Act in 2019, admissions to the MBBS seats at all AIIMS were merged with the NEET- UG exam conducted by the National Testing Agency and the AIIMS MBBS entrance exam was stopped. As a consequence, from 2020, admissions to MBBS seats at all AIIMS are being done through the NEET-UG exam," an official explained, as reported by PTI.
Entrance tests are used to determine admission to the three levels of medical schools. Currently, there are two exams required for each super specialty (DM/MCh) and PG (MD/MS) admission. The INICET-PG (postgraduate) and INICET-SS (super-speciality) exams are given to all INIs and are administered by AIIMS New Delhi. The NEET-PG and NEET-SS tests serve as comparable exams for all other medical colleges. The separate exam for AIIMS and other INIs for MBBS seats, however, has been eliminated in favour of a single exam: National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG is being held).
"In pursuance of highest standards and to maintain the spirit of innovation, the admission into postgraduate (INICET-PG) and super-speciality (INICET-SS) medical courses is now done through a Combined Entrance Test (CFT) administered by AIIMS, New Delhi. It is in this context, it is proposed that admission into undergraduate courses in the INIs should be done through a Combined Entrance Test (INICET-UG)," a note submitted to the governing body had stated.
"It was suggested that the MBBS entrance exam for AIIMS may be separated from the NEET-UG exam and reverted to the situation that existed till 2019. Similar to the pattern prior to 2020, admission to MBBS seats at all AIIMS may be done through a separate entrance exam. This exam could include MBBS seats of all INIs and be called the INICET-UG entrance exam," stated the official.
The letter states the reinstatement of INICET-UG was justified by the fact that the three stages of medical education—undergraduate, MBBS, post-graduate, MD/MS, and super specialty, SS—are implicitly and critically interlinked.
The entrance exams for all three levels must adhere to the same standards and approaches in order to guarantee a smooth transition. In addition, the NEET-UG exam has a significant number of candidates, including students and colleges, and it fills about 80,000 MBBS seats in the country. The mammoth organisation task requires extensive logistics and consequent delays. The NEET exam's administration and the counselling procedure are frequently postponed due to numerous stakeholders (including central, state, deemed, and private universities) because of legal disputes in various courts. A separate combined entrance test for undergraduate seats in INIs will shield them from events that affect the conduct of NEET, the note stated, as reported by PTI.
