NEET is a common all-India pre-medical examination for admission into undergraduate (MBBS) and postgraduate courses (MD, MS) in all medical colleges across the country. Bihar, along with Tamil Nadu and Jammu Kashmir, opposed the Centre’s decision.

The state government’s letter to the Union health ministry said that it had earlier opposed the move due to some “misunderstandings”. 

The change in state government’s stand and argument put forward by it speaks of the way the health department is being run in Bihar. What is strange is the plea of the state’s Health Minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey, who while talking to The Telegraph a few days back said: “We are with the Centre on the issue and are in the process of initiating action against the official who filed a counter-affidavit in the Supreme Court saying that the state government was against the Centre’s decision of centralising the pre-medical tests.”

But the counter-argument is how can a minister be unaware of the fact that the state had moved High Court and Supreme Court on such an important issue, which involves career of thousands of students. The issue was even reported in the media, including BiharTimes. It was then argued by the state government that all-India medical test would not suit the students who passed from the Bihar School Examination Board as their syllabus is different from the CBSE. The truth, however, is that the BSEB and CBSE courses are now almost the same and so are the pattern of evaluation and examination.

Incidentally, the “official” who had filed the counter-affidavit in the Supreme Court is Dr N P Yadav, controller of examination in the health department. 

Reacting to the minister’s statement regarding action against the official concerned he said the government should not make him a “scapegoat” as he had done so after due approval by the then principal secretary in his department.

“It was not my personal opinion to oppose NEET and go to the High Court and Supreme Court asking for exemption from the test. The department chief wanted it that way. Now since the Medical Council of India has already notified the test and the cases are still pending in the Court, we have decided to go for the examination. My stand is what the government’s is. Therefore, I should not be blamed for what happened in the past,” he said.