Candidates who could not pay the fees for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET)-2 for admission to MBBS and BDS courses till the last date in June have a breather from the government, with Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar announcing on Thursday that the NEET-1 scores of such students would be considered for selection.
The Ministry is also working on another move to benefit IIT students: all students with family incomes not exceeding Rs. 9 lakh a year will be able to access interest-free loans for five years from banks.
As for NEET, an oversight committee will take a call on another category of candidates: those who registered for NEET-2 — meaning filled the form and submitted the fees — but did not appear.
In the case of candidates writing NEET-2 — conducted by the CBSE — the NEET-2 scores will be considered. Mr. Javadekar said he took the decision after a girl in Pune expressed concern to him about her prospects as she could not pay the fee for NEET-2.
Interest subventionIn the case of the IITs, the government has pushed up the income cap on interest subvention for bank loans taken by candidates. The educational loan shall, however, cover only the tuition fees.
As of now, SC, ST, disabled candidates and students with family income below Rs. 1 lakh per annum get full remission and those with family income under Rs. 5 lakh per annum get two-thirds remission. Now, additionally, all students whose family income do not exceed Rs. 9 lakh per annum can claim interest-free loans for studying in the IITs.
The decision comes in the wake of a steep hike in IIT fees. “The IITs will pay the interests on student loans to the banks,” an MHRD official said.
KV at Rae BareliMr. Javadekar also announced a Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV) in Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s constituency of Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh and another in Pilibhit in the State, a move that signals a pitch for the U.P. polls due next year. Yet another KV will come up in Tekanpur in Madhya Pradesh.
