NEET nears, MCI still to fix disability admission norms
Medical Council of India (MCI) has just a month to formulate guidelines for admission in different colleges under the physically handicapped category, ahead of the national eligibility cum entrance test (NEET) for undergraduate courses scheduled for May 6.
More than 14 lakh students will sit for NEET exam for admission to medical colleges this year.
In March, the health ministry granted approval to amend the regulations for admission of persons with disability to medical courses in accordance with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
Around 5% seats are filled under the physically handicapped category.
Till now, lower limb disability between 50%-70% was the primary criteria for seeking admission to medical courses, but from this academic session, all 21 benchmark disabilities under the Act will be eligible for admission.
“Registration and allotment of seats would be followed by a medical examination to ascertain the level of disability before finally granting admission to candidates selected under the reserved quota,” read the health ministry statement issued in March.
The MCI -- body which regulates medical studies in India -- is yet to come up with minimum and maximum acceptable levels of disability in each category that would be the basis of accepting or rejecting candidates.
“The matter has been discussed with MCI officials. We are hoping that they will come up with the guidelines soon otherwise admissions will be chaotic and students will suffer,” said a senior health ministry official, refusing to be named.
The disabilities that will now be considered include blindness, low-vision, cured leprosy, hearing impairment, locomotor disability, dwarfism, intellectual disability, mental illness and autism.
Other conditions added to the list are spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, chronic neurological conditions, specific learning disabilities, multiple sclerosis, speech and language disability, thalassemia, haemophilia, sickle cell disease, acid attack victim and Parkinson’s disease.
NEWDELHI:The