Tamil Nadu Government Introduces Bill in the Assembly to Do Away with NEET

To safeguard the interest of the Tamil medium students of the state, Tamil Nadu government wants to do away with National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) on the line of the Jallikattu Act that was banned by the Apex Court of the country.

The State Government feel that the NEET has put the vernacular medium students of Tamil Nadu and first generation learners at disadvantage pushing them in direct competition with students from rest of the country.

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The late chief minister of the state, J Jayalalithaa, had strongly opposed the common test. The central government has promulgated an ordinance to keep the state on the purview of the common entrance exam but this year, students from the state seeking medical admission must pass the NEET.

On Tuesday, 31 January 2017, state's minister for health and family welfare, C Vijayabaskarthe tabled a Bill in the Assembly to remove the exam for admission to all the medical colleges of the state.

Right now, the state admits the students in the medical colleges of the state based on the marks obtained in the class 12^th examination. But the SC order mandated admissions to medical colleges in 2017 academic session be done only if the candidate passes the NEET.

Also Read: Limit on NEET Attempts Draws Mixed Response from Teachers & Students

Introducing the Bill, the minister said that a large number of students of the state who would appear for the NEET exam hail from the rural areas due to their poor economic conditions and the paucity of funds. These students are not as prepared as their counterparts in urban areas of rest of the country with coaching facilities. Another competitive exam would be a burden on these poor students.