NEET in Kannada: Karnataka’s delay to blame for its non-inclusion

While the State government is crying foul over non-inclusion of Kannada among the regional languages in which students can write the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), documents indicate that Karnataka delayed in making an appeal for its inclusion.

In fact, while the announcement on six regional languages, besides English and Hindi, in which NEET could be written was made on December 19, Karnataka sent its appeal only on December 20, after the issue was raised by Kannada organisations.

Sources in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MHFW) also claimed that the Karnataka government had initially not sought bilingual exams. Sources said that MHFW had conducted an “exhaustive exercise” and had consulted various State governments.