The confusion regarding the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) has left medical aspirants in the lurch.

A month after the Supreme Court ordered National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) should be held across India, last week, Narendra Modi's cabinet moved an ordinance to stay the top court's order.

The Union government's decision on NEET still needs to be officially approved by the President Pranab Mukherjee.

As per the Union cabinet's decision, the government ordinance is expected to allow states to conduct their own entrance tests for their colleges with the 12-15 per cent quota that they have in private medical and dental colleges only for this year. Sources said the government had decided on the ordinance but was waiting for the president's nod before making an official announcement.

Even the Bihar Combined Entrance Competitive Examination Board, which conducts entrance tests for medical and engineering seats, is in a dilemma with the proposed ordinance that allows states to hold medical entrance examinations for admission in state-run colleges.

The teachers and students are also confused on whether the state government will carry out entrance tests for its own medical colleges.

Sukriti Sinha, a medical aspirant, said: "We have come to know that the Union government has decided to defer NEET for a year but the ordinance is yet to get the president's nod."

Medicus Eduserv teacher Rohit Srivastva said: "We have information about the second test scheduled on July 24 but we don't have any information for how many seats the test would be held."

"We had already conducted preliminary tests and published its result but we're now confused whether to hold preliminary tests again if the ordinance is finally approved by the president," said BCECEB's officer on special duty Anil Kumar.

The vice-president of the state chapter of Indian Medical Association, Sunil Kumar Singh, said medical aspirants were made to suffer by the decisions of the Supreme Court, Union and state government.

"The Supreme Court's ruling regarding the admission into state-run medical colleges through NEET came very late when various state governments had already conducted their own medical entrance examinations," Sunil said. "The medical aspirants had to suffer by the Supreme Court's decision."

"Now that the Union government has challenged the top court's decision and is in the process of passing an ordinance that allows state governments to hold their own medical entrance examinations for admission into state-run medical colleges for a year, the situation has become even more confusing for medical aspirants. If the ordinance is passed and state governments decide to conduct fresh examinations it will be unfair for the students," he added.