NEET must for Ayurveda, Homeopathy courses: Gujrat High Court

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court dismissed a petition challenging a rule which makes the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) mandatory for admission to ayurveda and homoeopathy courses from this year.

A division bench headed by Chief Justice R Subhash Reddy dismissed the petition filed by some students challenging the Gujarat Professional Medical Educational Courses (Regulation of Admission) Rules, 2017.

The court said the state was justified in framing these rules making a certain minimum NEET score mandatory for BAMS (ayurveda) and BHMS (homoeopathy) courses.

The petitioners submitted that until last year those seeking admission to BAMS and BHMS only needed to get 50 per cent marks in Class 12 board exam and appear for Gujarat Common Entrance Test (GUJCET).

They appeared for GUJCET and not NEET as they were not interested in applying for other courses, the petition said.

However, the rules changed the criteria by introducing mandatory NEET clearance, it said.

The government, however, said all class 12 students had been intimated well in advance about changes in the admission criteria.

The Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board had issued a press note on March 8, stating that GUJCET will be conducted only for engineering and pharmacy courses, the government lawyer said.

Before that, a news report on February 10, informed that admissions to medical (MBBS), dental, homoeopathy, ayurveda and naturopathy courses will be granted on the basis of NEET score, the lawyer said.