State to ask SC for more time on NEET

HYDERABAD: The state government will file a special leave petition in the Supreme Court on Wednesday seeking exemption to the state, for at least one year, from the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for admissions to medical courses. The Maharashtra government has already filed a similar petition in the apex court and it is expected to come up for hearing on November 11. The Andhra Pradesh government is hopeful that the hearing on its petition too will take place on Friday along with Maharashtra’s case.Speaking to reporters at the Secretariat here on Tuesday, minister for health and family welfare DL Ravindra Reddy said he would, before the state files the SLP, meet Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in Delhi on Wednesday to discuss the matter.As NEET has led to serious apprehensions and confusion among students and parents and the change not leaving much time for preparation, the state can only request the Centre to grant more time to adopt NEET, he said.The minister blamed the director of medical education, NTR Health University and other departments for the ‘fiasco’, accusing them of failing to present the state’s case properly at meetings held with the Medical Council of India and central government officials on NEET. Apart from the preparatory time for switch-over, the medium of the exam and the syllabus are other areas that need to be sorted out, he said.