Health Minister Defends NEET Amidst Paper Leak Controversy

Health Minister J P Nadda defends NEET amidst paper leak allegations, emphasizing that medical education had become an open business, with PG seats sold for Rs 8-13 crore. He intervened during a Rajya Sabha discussion, highlighting rampant corruption in medical education before NEET's introduction.

Health Minister J P Nadda on Friday defended the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) amidst mounting paper leak allegations, pointing out that medical education was rife with corruption and had transformed into an open business before NEET was introduced. He exposed that postgraduate seats were being sold for Rs 8 crore to Rs 13 crore each.

During the discussion on a private member resolution put forth by DMK Rajya Sabha member M Mohmed Abdulla, Nadda intervened and revealed the vast corruption that plagued medical education prior to NEET's introduction in his initial term as health minister.

''Medical education had turned into a den of business. Back then, securing a post-graduation seat required paying Rs 8 crore, and for special disciplines like radiology, the price soared to Rs 12-13 crore,'' Nadda stated. He added that students had to travel nationwide for exams, enduring significant financial and temporal costs amid deep-seated corruption. According to Nadda, admission lists were displayed momentarily, with vacant seats later deceptively allocated, a practice pending before the Supreme Court for a long time.