Activists ask NMC to implement measures to support NEET aspirants with disabilities
The activists have demanded the medical education regulator to implement measures as per two Supreme Court orders to support NEET aspirants with disabilities
New Delhi: A group of health professionals has urged the National Medical Commission (NMC) to implement measures as per two Supreme Court orders to support NEET aspirants with disabilities for the upcoming examination on May 4.
Requesting implementation of SC verdict issued in October 2024 in two cases related to assessment of disability among medical aspirants, ‘Doctors With Disabilities: Agents of Change’, a group of health professionals with disabilities in India, has demanded the medical education regulator to issue instructions regarding the establishment of enabling units in medical colleges.
The group has also demanded the NMC to issue new guidelines for admitting persons with disabilities (PwD) into medical courses and include experts with disability or persons who have worked on disability justice in the panel formulating the guidelines.
In a letter to NMC dated February 4, the groups further demanded the regulator to issue directives to all medical colleges and the medical universities in the country to submit compliance report to University Grants Commission (UGC) on establishment of enabling units with details of the coordinator as a faculty member with disability.
In October 2024, the Supreme Court in its judgement related to a case of disability assessment of a medical aspirant said, “The enabling units established under the directions of the University Grants Commission (UGC) must act as a point of contact for persons with disabilities to access clinical accommodations. Students must be informed about the enabling units and equal opportunity cells through the information booklet circulated for new MBBS students, the college website and the Equal Opportunity Policy under Section 21 of Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Act 2016.”
While the enabling units in a college provide guidance and counseling to differently-abled individuals, the equal opportunity cell works with Schedule Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Person with Disabilities (PwD) cells to ensure that all students have equal access to education and opportunities.
The apex court had said that the application portal for National Eligiblility cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) managed by National Testing Agency (NTA) “must outline the accessibility compliances of different colleges to enable prospective students with disabilities in making an informed decision.”
The apex court had also asked the NMC to create a database with relevant information on accessibility and reasonable accommodation in medical colleges and universities. The court directed NMC to do the “needful” before the publication of the admission brochure for the academic year 2025-26.
The NTA began the NEET-UG application process from February 7 and issued the information brochure for the same.
“When the highest courts of the country speak, compliance is not optional. The NMC has repeatedly defied orders from both the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court, disregarding the rights of aspirants with disabilities. With the NTA brochure now out, this is not just negligence but it is contempt of the apex court,” said Dr Satendra Singh of Doctors With Disability: Agents of Change, on Sunday.
NEET-UG 2025 will be conducted by NTA in offline mode on May 4.
“NMC should create a database of accessibility provisions, assistive technologies available and reasonable or clinical accommodations available in all medical colleges for the NEET aspirants before counselling for the admissions in 2025-26 academic session,” he added.
NMC is yet to respond to HT’s queries on the matter. The story will be updated when they respond.
