BENGALURU: The state government may not agree with the decision of Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM) to conduct National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for AYUSH courses for the academic year 2017-18.
Considering the process to conduct Common Entrance Test (CET) for AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Sidda and Homeopathy) courses is already on, the Department of Health and Family Welfare plans to write back to the CCIM saying it cannot follow the single entrance test for AYUSH courses, at least for this year.
A source from the department said the matter was discussed at a recent meeting.
Officials of Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA), however, said they have no information about the developments.
A KEA official said, “We had received the communication from the Centre and forwarded it to the state government. We conducted a preliminary meeting where officials of AYUSH department were present. After that there was no reply from AYUSH officials or the government. We are awaiting a reply.”
Meanwhile, KEA authorities said if NEET has to include AYUSH courses, then the decision should be taken early from the government’s end as KEA would have to put out the revised notification.
AYUSH department officials too have no clarity on this issue. A senior official of AYUSH department said, “No concrete decision has been taken following the communication from the Centre. But conducting NEET for AYUSH courses for 2017-18 is doubtful.”
The state government will announce its decision on Tuesday after a meeting at the government-level.