HYDERABAD: The state is gearing up for National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET), an all India medical test that MCI is planning to introduce from 2012, and has started revising the Intermediate syllabus for the same.
The new syllabus is expected to be similar to the one followed by NCERT. However, there are some concerns as the state is going ahead with the changes even before the Medical Council of India deciding on its syllabus for NEET.
It has been almost a decade since the Intermediate Board made major changes to its syllabus, though about four years ago, officials did introduce new material as an appendix to the existing texts. A meeting regarding the syllabus change is expected to start next week, officials said. Several stake holders, including private and government college lecturers are expected to participate in the meeting.
Officials said major changes are being made in Biology and Zoology as they are core subjects for NEET. Even teachers and officials have suggested that changes in the syllabus should enable students to prepare for both Intermediate and the National Entrance Test, as against preparing for each separately.
Currently, most of the students, who appear for national level entrances, opt for NCERT syllabus over the state textbooks.
However, the new changes have miffed some parties among the private colleges who are insisting that the syllabus revision should be brought about after Medical Council of India (MCI) decides on the national syllabus for NEET.
“The BIE can decide on the syllabus for MPC (Maths, Physics and Chemistry) courses but the BPC (Biology, Physics and Chemistry) syllabus should be decided in November,” said a senior lecturer from a private junior college. MCI is expected to release the syllabus for NEET only in the last week of September.
The state government, that had given its consent for the national level test, has also sought some clarifications. “The health department has sent a letter to the MCI seeking a clarification on the language in which the national test will be conducted. The state has over 30,000 students who write the entrance examination in Telugu. The government will agree to participate in NEET only if these students are given an option to write in Telugu,” said an official from higher education department.
Meanwhile, junior college teachers have sent a petition to MCI asking for a postponement of the test.
“The test should be made mandatory for all states only from 2014. The new syllabus should be introduced to students who join the Intermediate in the year 2012 so that they get two years to prepare for the test,” said a representative from Narayana Group of Institutions.
Source : TOI