Medical Education Special NEET DOMICILE ROW
The way forward
We have thousands of parents who want their children to become doctors.
Shrikant Mane, father of Rahul Mane (Case-2 given above), echoes the
sentiment of many like him in his home state Maharashtra when he asks, “Is
this parents’ mistake or students’ mistake? I do not know to which state my
child belongs. How can he be not from Maharashtra? Please explain. How
can we leave our job and settle in our domicile state? Will the state govern-
ment provide us job?”
The state governments need to devise a rational formula to help deserving
students secure a seat, instead of denying it. It would be a good idea if all the
state governments under the guidance of the central government work out
a plan of action so that deserving students do not have to undergo the same
ordeal in the next NEET season.
STATES DOMICILE RULEAndhra Pradesh Candidate should have resided in the state for seven consecutive
years and completed Class 12 from the state.AssamEither of the parents should have lived for not less than 20 years
in the state and candidate should have done his Classes VII to
XII in Assam.DelhiCandidate should have completed 10+2 from Delhi or holds a
domicile certiƼcateGujaratCandidate must have been born in Gujarat and have cleared Class
X and XII from the state.
Candidate born outside Gujarat should have completed Class X
and XII from the state and should have been living in Gujarat for
10 consecutive years.KarnatakaCandidate should have resided in the state for seven consecutive
years and completed Class 12 from the state.Maharashtra Candidate should be a domicile of the state and should have
completed Classes 10 and 12 from the state.PunjabCandidate who is domicile of the state and has completed 10+2
from the state.
Wards of parents who have been living in Punjab for minimum
Ƽve years.RajasthanCandidate should be domicile of the state and should have com-
pleted Classes 10 and 12 from the state. For candidate who has
studied outside state, either of the parents should have lived in
the state for a minimum of 10 years, also, the candidate must
have studied in the state for at least 5 years.Tamil NaduCandidate with domicile and has completed his 10-12th from the
state. Candidate who has completed his Class VIII to XII outside
Tamil Nadu, his parents should have resided continuously for 5
years in the state.Telangana Candidate should have resided in the state for seven consecutive
years and completed Class 12 from the state.Uttar PradeshCandidate who is domicile of Uttar Pradesh and has completed
10+2 from the state. Candidate who has completed 10 or 10+2
or both from outside the state needs to produce Uttar Pradesh
Domicile certiƼcateNote: Domicile rules for Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana are similar in nature.T
he access to higher education, includ-
ing professional education, inevitably
has to be merit-based alone. This is the law
in the letter as well as in spirit. Merit gov-
erning admission cannot be and should not
be open for any marginalization or subver-
sion of any type or any manner in the name
of self-styled impositions and restrictions
other than those that are stipulated in the
Constitution itself, which are invariably
mandatory in character and binding in
nature.
The concept of ‘All-India Quota’ envis-
aged for admissions was primarily to
ensure that the admissions there under
were independent of any geographical
boundaries that limit the state and hence
admissions that are independent of any
limitation in the name of domicile of a
particular state. However, the admissions
to ‘state quota’ are bound to be governed
by the Rule of Domicile prescribed by the
state concerned.
The core issue turns out to be different
domicile rules imposed by different states.
The said difference in domicile rules pre-
scribed by the different states turns out
to be a real thorn when it comes to merit-
based admissions to the state quota.
It is true that the restriction in the name
of domicile by a state is in conformity with
the federalism and principles thereto as
enshrined in the Constitution of India, but
what is desirable is that there could be
certain central binding guidelines issued/
notified by the Government of India to all
the states for invocation of uniform rules
governing the domicile, which would bring
a sense of pan India parity and would be
conducive to the students seeking admis-
sions to the state quota without any preju-
dice to their merit in the name of differen-
tial conditions imposed by different states
in regard to domicile.Dr. Vedprakash Mishra,
Former Chairman,
Academic Council, Medical Council of IndiaCOLUMN