New Delhi: The National Medical Commission (NMC) on Wednesday allowed Class XII students who have pursued physics, chemistry, biology or biotechnology along with English even as an additional subject to appear in the NEET-UG examination.
A notice uploaded on NMC’s official website said that this decision “will be applicable even to students whose applications were previously rejected.”
The NMC has framed the Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2023 as notified on June 2. Regulation 11(b) provides that candidates who have passed 10+2 or its equivalent with the subjects of Physics, Chemistry, Biology / Biotechnology and English shall be eligible for appearing in NEET-UG.
“Therefore, after the framing of Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2023 the earlier Regulations on Graduate Medical Education, 1997 including the various amendments stand repealed prospectively,” the NMC notice said.
The NMC held detailed deliberations in a meeting held on June 14, 2023 and took into consideration the New Education Policy, which permits a great extent of flexibility in the study of various subjects in Class XII and “decided that the previous approach of the erstwhile Medical Council of India needs to be revisited by permitting candidates to undertake study of the requisite subjects (Physics, Chemistry, Biology / Biotechnology along with English) even as additional subjects after passing Class 12th from duly recognized boards by the concerned Government”. Such candidates shall be permitted to appear in the NEET-UG Test and thus will be eligible for a grant of eligibility certificate, the notice stated.
The present decision shall be applicable retrospectively also on candidates whose applications for grant of eligibility certificate have been rejected on the grounds contemplated in the present public notice. However, for the purpose of appearing in NEET-UG, candidates who become eligible after the date of the present public notice, shall be permitted to appear in NEET-UG-2024.
