The Assam Cabinet has approved three changes in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Exam. This included holding exams in only government organisations or exam centres, district authorities supervising the examination process and biometric tests of students before taking the test. The state government will request NTA and the Ministry of Education to implement these changes to the medical entrance exam process to ensure the fair conduct of the exam.
Students' practical or academic knowledge is very limited: CM
Addressing a press conference after a cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said faculty members at medical colleges in the state have pointed out that students who crack the entrance examinations with high numbers are not as good as they should have been.
"Many professors told us that many students' practical or academic knowledge is very limited despite scoring high numbers in such a big examination. We had asked the Special Branch to probe the matter around one-and-half-year back," he added. Sarma said the police have informed the government that most of the entrance exam centres are in private institutes, not in government schools or colleges.
"We didn't interfere so far as it is conducted by Delhi. The Cabinet today took three decisions, to request the central government. The first is to hold the medical entrance exam only in government schools," he added.
Sarma to discuss the matter with the Education Minister
Sarma said the government has authorised the chief secretary to contact the NTA director general and Union education secretary to inform them of the cabinet decisions. The CM said he would personally discuss the matter with Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Quota for char areas approved
The state Cabinet also approved the revocation of the quota for Char areas (riverine vegetative islands) of the Assam MBBS/BDS Rules 2017 from the 2025-26 session onwards.
"We have also decided to bring in an amendment to the Act related to Srimanta Sankaradeva University of Health Sciences (SSUHS). This will mandate obtaining national security clearance from the Home Department before the opening of nursing, dental, pharmaceutical or any healthcare colleges," Sarma said. They will also have to follow secularism and there should not be any direct or indirect involvement with conversion, he said. The government will also introduce a bill during the ongoing budget session of the assembly to control and regulate the private coaching institutes, mushrooming in the state, he stated. "The Cabinet has allotted land to the Industry Department for the establishment of two mega industrial parks in Kamrup and Morigaon districts," the CM said.
(Inputs from PTI)