Students, who appeared for EAMCET (medical stream) held on Friday, were at a loss over the Supreme Court ruling making National Eligibility Entrance Test, the common all-India medical entrance test, mandatory.
“The ruling came as a rude shock for us,” said an agitated Casareen Fatima, who just came out of the exam hall.
BiPC students are clueless over their career prospects. “The first phase of NEET is scheduled for May 1 and the second one for July 24. Who will explain to us whether we are supposed to write this exam or ignore it. And even if we choose to attempt, should we appear for the one to be held on May 1 or the one to be held on July 24?” asked the girl.
The government’s repeated assurance in the last one week that it would file a review petition in the apex court to seek exemption from NEET and that the decision was taken after consulting legal experts came as a great relief to students who were gearing up for EAMCET.
But post-SC ruling the State Government is on shaky ground with the Human Resource Development Minister Ganta Srinivas Rao admitting that it was in a sticky situation over the NEET issue.
Syllabus issue
“Students appearing in the second phase of NEET will have an unfair advantage over the students appearing for it on May 1. Moreover, our exam preparedness is based on State syllabus while NEET will follow the CBSC model,” said Keerthi Manchana, yet another aspirant.
“This is ridiculous. Students put their heart and soul in the EAMCET preparation given the cut-throat competition. Now to say that all their hard work will go drown the drain makes no sense. It’s a very disturbing development, both for students and their parents,” said M. Satyanarayana Rao, a worried parent.
The fate of lakhs of students who appeared for EAMCET on Friday will depend on the stand taken by the State government which intends to discuss the issue at the Cabinet meeting slated for May 2.
