Reason for this blog is the above post from social media. A discussion on NEET vs CA led to some thoughts on a different line.
Why NEET is different from CA entrance.
NEET is now the standardized entrance for medicine which is more skill based. Even a butcher can be said to have the knack of skillful surgery, so to say. Medicine is basically mastering of the names and functions of internal organs. I have heard of patients complaining of how so-and-so surgeons do a poor butchery, scarring them forever. And nowadays with the machines coming to rule diagnosis, the medicos are more like programmers. It all becomes more of derivations with proofs such as CT scans, X Rays and lab tests. This is not to dilute the role of the medical fraternity, especially the hardworking and selfless physicians in serving humanity. I am merely stating that the medical work may be dogged, but it is still something that can be mastered with practice and training. It just cannot be off limits for anyone. To those with right aptitude, medical field can be appealing. Therefore the medical course is not for the mind, like engineering is or charted accountancy is. May be a little. You still have to differentiate and distinguish which vein or nerve ending when cut can cause irreparable damage. You have to study the diseases and know the implications. You have to update yourself with treating methods and changing chemical compositions for prescribed medicine. And this is one never ending job. But this is something we have in every sphere of work. Engineering updates are quickest with very short span of life before the next wave of technology erases the past sometimes totally. To a degree, all of us are born with basic engineering, medical and accounting skills. This is why we have illiterate masons and unqualified construction engineers. Book keeping is also something perfected by many of us unofficially. We have home remedies for illnesses. Similarly even an illiterate butcher without schooling can be possessing good surgical skills. In fact historically, it were the butchers who took to medicine and surgery with their practised ease with knives, for their precision in surgery, until we had modern medicine. Medicine gets better with practice and research. Mostly the profession gets better with trial and error method. Which is why even today, volunteers are sought to try even new vaccines. Everything is experimental to begin with. Practice follows success. The diagnosis skills get honed as young doctors see hundreds of OP cases every single day. This has got more to reckon with the repeated symptoms.
Which is why, you don’t have to take entrances to the level of IIT JEE to enter a medical college. It is enough if the aspiring medicos are good in general terms. If your memory retention is good, it can serve you better. If your IQ is good, you can connect the dots and make a good diagnosis. With the aid of medical instruments and tests, one can be a successful doc all said.
So it goes without saying that the rural aspirants of a medical degree with no fluency of English language, who have attended Tamil schools, can still hope to become good physicians serving local communities, mostly far flung villages and tribal areas they may come from. The unwillingness of urban candidates to serve in these outposts also can be dealt with wisely with rural appointees posted to backward regions in the country. This is how India has so far managed her rural health care, with very few urban medicos ready to shift to countryside leaving behind the creature comforts of city life.
What NEET can do to India’s self-sufficient health care system SANS MEDICAL INSURANCE is: (1) completely get rid of rural candidates who cannot excel in English language but who are otherwise smart enough and fit for medical studies (2) total seat allotment to urban candidates who will not move to rural and backward areas of the country (3) no service motivation in urban candidates to serve far flung inaccessible terrains and tribal regions (4) submission of urban candidates to corporate medical health care system in exchange for a healthy pay check (5) slow but steady take over of rural health care falling apart for lack of serving medical teams by corporate hospital detrimental to health care system of India (6) profit motive in health care anathema to democratic India (7) unhealthy insurance practices even in rural health care pushing up medical bills as we see it happening even in urban health care (8) collapse of total health care network in India with medical help accessible only by the monied.
NEET can be held for PG entrance, and that too with at least a 50% seat reserved for service candidates (with professional experience of at least 5 years as it was in pre-NEET days). This is very vital to ensure the quality of medical professionals we produce in India.
Reservation has it merits. Tamil Nadu health care so far has proved the point. Who other than reserved category candidates will serve Ramanathapuram district for instance. Our urban candidates are more than willing to work for corporate honchos selling their soul. NEET is for them. Although, I do agree, NEET promises medical seats to more aspirants on payment basis which is fair enough.
Now how about engineering or chartered accounting. Both these need much more of methodical studies mostly technical. Entrance to these streams must therefore have an eligibility criteria a bit superior to medical entrance.
Also in what way is chartered accounting special that it has to be taken out of mainstream and be pursued as a separate course. After all the much critical medicine and engineering degrees and diplomas are mainstream. Why do we have to follow everything as dictated to us by the British. Is CA a mere certification. Even so, why has it not been attempted so far to mainstream CA and include it in our university curriculam. Not even legal practice is out of scope of mainstream degree. I wonder why accounting has to be regarded special. By keeping it out of purview of maximum aspirants, I think the motive that is served is, limiting the CA outputs thereby raising their price. I can’t think of any other explanation for this selfish pursuit of capping the number of CAs who graduate every year.
The New Education Policy is shortly coming into force. Why not a thought on CA program as well Dear Narendra Modi ji. Why cannot the course be offered in university stream. CA and CS (Company secretaryship) also may be streamlined in near future, so that many many more aspirants will have access to the course not filtered by a daunting entrance.
It is ironic that a medical seat that can and must be accessible to rural aspirants must be denied to them for the only reason that they are not English medium products, but a deterrence must be in place for CA aspirants by way of an ambitious entrance. Capping of CA grads per annum increments to the price of the CAs pushing up artificial demand. Well, well, we have to have a look into this.
Life saving medicos, petroleum engineers and space scientists have to follow university curricular. But these men who cook up accounts have to have their own institutes prized by their own valedictorians. In what way is the service of these guys so special. Or above that of a medical doctor or an engineer or a lawyer.
Time to halve the hefty packages these CAs take home working in airconditioned comforts mostly cooking up books!
Time to annul the one month summer vacation for court. With cases pending and lagging behind by months, why are the judges getting May month off Dear Modi ji, can you answer me. Is India still British Raj. What stops you from cancelling the one month summer vacation for judges.Indian judiciary cannot afford this luxury or rather waste any more. Indian masses and justice system deserve this. Cancel the summer holidays for courts and judges OR give one month paid holiday in May for government doctors and pilots and train drivers etc. Are these judges royalty, my prime minister. Seventy five years since India’s independence. Time to get them down on equal footing with rest of the nation.
Disclaimer 😀 I am neither of those hahaha, just a thought!
vijiravindran's 