Supreme Court Grants NEET Eligibility to Open School Graduates

New Delhi, 6th March 2024: The Supreme Court has recently ruled that students who have successfully graduated from any Open Schools sanctioned by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and State Boards of Education will now be recognized by the National Medical Council (NMC) for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). This decision extends eligibility to candidates who have completed their 10+2 education through open schools, allowing them to participate in the NEET examination.

Previously, Regulation 4(2)(a) of the Indian Medical Council Rules, 1957 on Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 1997 restricted such candidates from taking the NEET exam. In 2018, the Delhi High Court declared this provision unconstitutional, and the recent decision by Arvind Kumar’s bench reinforces this stance while addressing a petition filed on this matter.

In a significant development, the Board of Undergraduate Medical Education of the NMC issued a letter dated 02.11.2023, confirming that “All open schools approved by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and State Boards of Education will be considered for approval by the NMC for NEET.” This pivotal information, presented before the bench, was accompanied by a public notice from the Board on the same date. The notice outlined the Commission’s introduction of the Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2023, which stipulate that candidates who have completed their 10+2 education with the required subjects, including Physics, Chemistry, Biology/Biotechnology, and English, are eligible to participate in NEET-UG.

Furthermore, the court took note that with the formulation of the Graduate Medical Education Regulations 2023, the erstwhile Rules on Graduate Medical Education 1997, inclusive of various amendments, have been repealed. In light of these progressive developments, the court has rendered its final decision on the matter.