Karnataka Can Conduct State Medical Entrance Exam to Replace NEET, Says Minister Sharanprakash Patil - Video

Karnataka Medical Education Minister Dr Sharanprakash Patil has said the state government is capable of conducting a separate state-level entrance examination for medical admissions instead of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA). Speaking to TNIE, Patil cited Karnataka’s long experience with the Common Entrance Test (CET), conducted by the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA), and said the state has the infrastructure and expertise to conduct examinations transparently. He also said medical students would face no difficulty shifting from NEET to a state-level test, as Karnataka has already standardised the CBSE curriculum across its pre-university colleges.

Patil questioned the transparency of the NTA and the Union government, claiming that complaints regarding Karnataka’s examinations have generally been limited to occasional incidents. He argued that examination authorities can prevent irregularities if there is sufficient intent and criticised the Centre over recurring paper-leak concerns. According to Patil, if the National Medical Commission prescribes the same CBSE-based syllabus for a state-level medical entrance examination, Karnataka would have no difficulty implementing it. He also accused the Union government of being “incompetent” and “opaque” in conducting NEET, reports TNIE.