Student Islamic Organisation (SIO) is demanding to include Urdu as a language in the NEET 2017. Recently the Medical Council of India (MCI) has approved eight languages to be included in NEET from the year 2017, following that the Maharashtra wing of Student Islamic Organisation (SIO) have written to the Medical Council of India to include Urdu among the regional language club. As of the decision made by MCI previously on December 21, NEET-UG will be conducted in total eight languages i.e.
| Language | NEET Language for Exam |
| English | Yes |
| Hindi | Yes |
| Marathi | Yes |
| Gujarati | Yes |
| Bengali | Yes |
| Assamese | Yes |
| Telugu | Yes |
| Tamil | Yes |
| Kannada | State Govt raised concern, may be included from 2018 |
| Urdu | Petition Filed for Inclusion |
Reasons Cited by SIO for NEET to be conducted in the Urdu Language
SIO has filled an online petition requesting to HRD ministry saying include "Urdu as a medium of examination in NEET-UG-2017-18". The online petition is being supported by the people and 1, 300 people have signed the online petition in a short period.
The online petition says "Till the academic year 2011-12, entrance tests for medical and dental courses were conducted through State Common Entrance Tests which were conducted by the state governments through bodies authorised for the same. These tests were conducted in the primary languages in which higher and higher secondary education in the states were conducted. In Maharashtra for instance, the Common Entrance Test (CET) was conducted in English, Marathi and Urdu. While it is not an official language of the State of Maharashtra, the fact that Urdu was one of the languages in which the test was conducted is indicative of its importance as a medium of higher and higher secondary instruction".
Some academicians have already expressed concerns in favour of Urdu pointing that the Urdu language is being marginalised. The SIO demanded Urdu as one of the regional languages in NEET so that the Urdu medium students may not feel left out. "In Maharashtra alone, there are around 168 Urdu-medium science junior colleges and many Urdu-medium students appear for HSC examinations in the science stream every year," said Mohammed Ali, secretary of the organisation.
Abdul Shaban, Deputy Director of the Tuljapur centre of TISS said, "Urdu is neither the language of the state nor the market. As a result, those formally trained in the language have been at a disadvantage."
Abdul Shaban in his work, 'Urdu and Urdu-medium Schools in Maharashtra', explains the disadvantages of Urdu medium students identifying the mode of competitive examinations in the state where most of them are conducted in English and Marathi. He also pointed out the identical problems reported by the Sachar Committee. He also said that this kind of scenario shuts the door for Urdu students for larger job opportunities.
Before NEET the medical entrance exam was conducted by State Governments and was conducted in English as well as the regional language of the state. As all the state level medical exams have been cancelled and replaced by NEET so there is a demand for inclusion of regional languages for NEET 2017.
