Supreme Court Upholds Mandatory NEET UG Qualification For Studying Medicine Abroad

New Delhi: There will be no change in a regulation that requires Indian students to qualify in NEET UG exam before pursuing undergraduate medical courses abroad.

Hearing a petition of students challenging the rule, the Supreme Court on Thursday pronounced that making NEET UG mandatory is a fair and transparent measure that does not violate any legal provision.

The regulation, introduced in 2018 by the Medical Council of India (MCI), aligns with the Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 1997, and ensures uniformity in medical education standards, the top court said.

Students had argued that the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, was not amended before introducing the NEET UG requirement. Countering this, the Supreme Court ruled that MCI had the authority to enforce it under Section 33 of the Act.

The top court rejected the request for a one-time exemption, saying that students who took admission abroad after the amended regulations were implemented must comply.

The rule applies only to those who wish to study medicine abroad and practise in India, but students can still study and work in other countries without NEET.