CET for Dental and Medical admissions

MCI and the president of the Dental Council of India Dr Dibyendu Mazumdar have reached the conclusion of having a common entrance test for admission in both Dental and Medical colleges in India. NEET, an acronym for National Eligibility Entrance Test is an entrance test used for admission in medical colleges across India suggested by the Medical council of India (MCI), and now it shall be applicable for admission to dental colleges too.

Earlier when the MCI projected National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET), there was bit haziness about whether the test will be applicable for admission to dental courses as well. There were some issues regarding the syllabus too. But finally, both the councils concluded that holding a separate entrance for dental admissions might prove to be a millstone for students. Hence taking this into account it has been decided to have the common test for both Medical and Dental admissions.

The test shall be based on CBSE syllabus and the merit list will be affirmed with state wise rankings. The test shall be the criterion for admission to almost all medical colleges in the country, including private medical colleges, from 2012 academic year. Gujarat has agreed to NEET from 2012-13 but on the condition that besides English and Hindi, the test will also be offered in Gujarati.

The apprentices of dental colleges will be required to undergo a one-year internship, out of which three months will have to be essentially spent in rural areas. Candidates are also expected to be aware of the problems of the rural India. Moreover the curriculum shall include mandatory internship in armed forces hospitals and certain states like Kerala and Uttarakhand.

Source: Latika Leekha (Shiksha Team)