State politicians did not leave any stone unturned while claiming credit for the Centre’s decision to defer NEET by a year on Friday. Senior leaders from major political parties rushed to stake claim, while Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and tweeted pictures of him surrounded by students who had come to thank him for the efforts.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNA) chief Raj Thackeray, too, claimed it was his perseverance with Mr Modi that got the desired results. Shiv Sena’s Aditya Thackeray urged governments of other states to start preparations early for next year’s exams so as to usher NEET in.
Mr Fadnavis said he met Mr Modi earlier this month. “I am thankful to the PM for hearing our plea; There is a vast difference between the state and the CBSE syllabus and our students would have found it hard to cope with the change at such a short notice,” he said.
Mr Thackeray said he was grateful to Modi for taking the step of issuing an ordinance. The MNS chief met Fadnavis with a group of students. “I thank the Chief Minister and the Prime Minister for taking the decision and bringing relief to lakhs of students. It is great that they have replied to my appeal to cancel the exams this year. I will soon speak with the CM on how to plan for NEET next year,” the MNS chief said.
While the Shiv Sena had stayed out of the race to claim credit, it said on Friday that the decision to defer NEET augurs well for students in the state.
Yuva Sena chief Aditya Thackeray said, “My party and I are glad that NEET has been postponed by a year since lakhs of students would have been held back from achieving their dreams in the medical profession. The students deserve this credit for standing up to this decision in the face of all pressure rightfully to have the NEET postponed,” he said. Aditya urged education ministries of other states, where the NEET syllabus is new, to start training centres at the district level for next year.
Admissions to government-run medical dental colleges will be on the basis of the MHT-CET merit list, Pravin Shingare, director, The Directorate of Medical Education and Research, said. However, he said admissions to private medical and dental colleges this year will be on the basis of NEET merit list. Next year, all admissions will be on the basis of NEET, Shingare added.
