Kapil Sibal said a big thing on NEETThe issue of corruption in MBBS exam has gained momentumThis matter has reached the Supreme Court, hearing is going on
New Delhi. Amid the ongoing controversy over the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) conducted for admission to medical colleges, former Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal made a big statement on Sunday. He said that the allegations of irregularities in NEET should be investigated by officers appointed by the Supreme Court and urged the government to hold in-depth discussions with all the states regarding the methods of conducting the examination. Sibal also said that I am surprised and this is a matter of national concern.
In a special interview, Rajya Sabha member Sibal also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi on this issue and said that if the examination system itself becomes corrupt in any examination, then it is not right for the Prime Minister to remain silent. Sibal urged all political parties to raise this issue loudly in the upcoming Parliament session. He said that there is little hope of a discussion on this, because the government will not allow it citing that the matter is pending in the court.
‘I am shocked’
Sibal was the Minister of Human Resource Development (now Department of Education) from 29 May 2009 to 29 October 2012. He said, ‘The National Examination Agency (NTA) has actually rigged and the corrupt practices of providing question papers in advance for exams like those conducted to become doctors have been exposed by media institutions.’ Sibal said, ‘I am shocked by some incidents in Gujarat and these are a matter of concern for the nation. I think NTA should answer these serious questions.’ Sibal said that what is even more surprising and disappointing is that whenever something like this happens and there is corruption in the current government, ‘blind devotees’ start blaming the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) for it and this is most unfortunate because they do not gather complete information before making such statements.
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Kapil Sibal’s clarification
The former Union minister and senior advocate pointed out that the NEET regulation was introduced in the year 2010 by the Medical Council of India (MCI) through its board of directors and the MCI was under the Ministry of Health and not the Ministry of Education. Sibal said, “So as HRD Minister, I had nothing to do with it. The board of directors of the MCI introduced a regulation which stated that there should be a national eligibility test for students seeking admission to the MBBS course. This regulation was challenged by the writ petitioners and was struck down by the Supreme Court on 18 July 2013, holding that the MCI had no legislative authority to introduce NEET.” He said that this is why after its striking down, a review petition was filed on 11 April 2014. The review was allowed and the 2013 order was withdrawn.
Amendments to the law
Sibal said that the BJP government came to power and filed a writ petition in the apex court on April 28, 2016 asking that since the order cancelling the NEET regulation has been withdrawn, why is the regulation issued by the MCI not being implemented? He said that after this, on August 4, 2016, the BJP government introduced Section 10D and amended the Indian Medical Council Act. Sibal said, ‘On August 8, 2019, the National Medical Council Act was passed in place of the Indian Medical Council Act 1956. Another section 14 was added to it which provides for NEET. After this, on October 29, 2020, the apex court upheld this law. ‘ He further said that this bill was brought by the present government and it has nothing to do with the UPA.
Tags: Kapil Sibal, National Eligibility Criteria, Supreme Court
FIRST PUBLISHED : June 16, 2024, 15:38 IST