Mandatory NEET shock for Gujarat students

Ahmedabad: Reeling from the shock of NEET becoming mandatory for medical and dental admissions, more than 68,000 students of HSC science will just go through the motions when they take the Gujarat Common Entrance Test (GujCET) across the state on Tuesday. GujCET has been reduced to a second fiddle exam, to be relevant only for admission to paramedical courses.
Hope stayed alive that Gujarat students may escape the mandatory NEET when states were allowed to conduct local exams, including GujCET.
The SC order on Monday effectively made it clear that NEET shall be compulsory. It however gave students who took NEET-I the option of taking NEET-II. If they do so, their first exam will be forfeited.
Gujarat students said they are at a distinct disadvantage.
Only 15,000 students from Gujarat prepared for and took the All-India Pre Medical Test (AIPMT) which was recently turned into NEET-I by SC. The rest were counting on GujCET to secure admission to the coveted medical courses.
"For two years my son has prepared for GujCET, whose syllabus is at least 25-30% different from NEET. Last minute preparation of the CBSE syllabus based exam has put him at a distinct disadvantage," said Naina Swami, the parent of a medical aspirant.
Parents also rued the fact that Gujarat board students take semester exams, which means they forget about the earlier semester once the exam is over. "NEET will be based on the class 11 and 12 CBSE syllabus. GujCET is based on only the class 12 state board syllabus. Local students will not only have to prepare the syllabus they studied and forgot one year earlier, but will also have to contend with taking a technical exam in English or Hindi, which is not the medium they studied in," said Dr Vasumati Patel.
That students who took NEET-I got the option to prepare for three more months and take NEET-II on July 24 appeared to be the only silver lining.
"It is good that we get the option to take NEET-II. Even though the introduction of NEET at the last minute is an injustice, the option to take the exam later has instilled some confidence," said Naman Oza.
Shivani Pandya, a student said the GujCET exam has lost its meaning. "We will take the exam only for the sake of taking it," she said.
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