Andhra Pradesh will seek postponement by two years of its participation in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) to be conducted by the Medical Council of India through the Central Board of Secondary Education, for admission to undergraduate and post-graduate medical colleges.

The State government wants to join the national test for admissions from the 2014-15 academic year as it strongly feels that syllabus for science subjects of the two-year Intermediate course in Andhra Pradesh has to be revised in tune with national standards. To prepare the students in the State for the test in 2014-15, the science subjects' syllabus will have to be changed for the first year Intermediate in 2012-13 and for the second year in 2013-14.

G. Sudhir, special chief secretary, Medical & Health, told The Hindu here on Friday that the Centre went ahead with its plan to conduct the test in 2012-13, although there was no court order binding on it to go for the test from next year. Earlier, Health Minister D.L. Ravindra Reddy said the government would write to the Centre stating that students from Andhra Pradesh would be able to take the national test only from 2014-15 by which time they would be brought abreast with the prevailing standards. Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, he said the Centre had agreed to give the option to the candidates to write the examination in Telugu as well.

Dr. Ravindra Reddy said the government would have to amend the Andhra Pradesh Education Act of 1983 through which the State-level EMACET test was introduced for admissions into engineering and medical colleges in the State. Also, another legislation giving weightage to Intermediate marks would have to be amended, he added. Andhra Pradesh government wants to join national test from 2014-15