Rules for common test to medical courses finalised

NEW DELHI - The central government Friday informed the Supreme Court that it had finalised the rules and regulations for all India common entrance test (CET) for post-graduate medical courses.

The government also told the apex court that it had finalised the rules and regulations for undergraduate medical course.

Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium told Justice R.V. Raveendran and Justice H.L. Gokhale that the government wanted to hold common entrance tests to have uniform standards of medical education in the country.

Subramanium said the government had succeeded in evolving the consensus among private and government medical colleges on the tests.

The court was also told that an earlier announcement by the Medical Council of India (MCI) for holding a common entrance test was deferred due to opposition from the Tamil Nadu government.

In Tamil Nadu, admission in professional courses is on the basis of marks obtained in the qualifying examinations.

The court asked the government why it needed its approval to issue the notification, saying it did not want to be part of the government’s policy decisions.

It also told the government that it should not rush with the notification for the common test as there could be opposition from states.