At a time when the controversy around the irregularities in the conduct of NEET is rocking the country, the Tamil Nadu assembly on Friday unanimously adopted a resolution urging the union government to scrap the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for the entire country. The resolution urged the centre to allow the state to admit students to medical courses based on plus two marks.
The resolution was passed in the assembly amid opposition by the BJP legislators who staged a walkout and with support from Ramadoss’s PMK. Moving the resolution in the assembly, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said the test is discriminatory and deprives an opportunity for rural and poor students to access medical education. “In the backdrop of several states opposing the exam, this House unanimously resolves that the Union Government should amend the National Medical Commission Act so that NEET is scrapped for the entire country,” the resolution said.
“It makes medical education inaccessible to the rural and poor students. It affects the medical services in rural and backward areas. It denies states their rights to admit students with plus two marks as the qualifying criteria,” Stalin said while passing the resolution.
The state assembly had earlier passed two resolutions - one in 2017 and another in 2021. Tamil Nadu has been against NEET since it was introduced in 2017. It had been an emotive issue in the state and the first voice against NEET began with Anitha, a student from rural Tamil Nadu. Since then over 20 students have killed themselves either because of the fear of appearing for the exams or because of losing in NEET.
The state has been protesting continuously against NEET. In 2017, the then AIADMK government passed a resolution in the assembly while the DMK government in 2021 passed a resolution based on the recommendations of the AK Rajan committee. Scrapping NEET had been one of the election promises of both the Dravidian parties in the state.
