Chennai,August 11
The Tamil Nadu Assembly on Tuesday adopted a resolution urging the Union government to abolish the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for undergraduate medical admissions and restore the State’s ability to admit students based on their Class XII marks.
BJP MLA M. Bhojarajan opposed the resolution and walked out of the House before the voting.
Moving the resolution, Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare Minister K.G. Arunraj urged the Centre to amend laws governing medical education to enable Tamil Nadu to determine its own admission process.
The resolution sought amendments to the National Medical Commission Act, 2019, the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Act, 2020, the National Commission for Homoeopathy Act, 2020, and other relevant Central laws. Such changes, it said, would pave the way for medical admissions in Tamil Nadu based on marks secured in the Class XII examination.
Reiterating the State government’s opposition to NEET, the resolution argued that the centralised entrance examination was against the principles of social justice and equality and adversely affected the rights of States in matters concerning medical education.
It said NEET had particularly reduced opportunities for students from rural and socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, including Tamil-medium students and those unable to afford specialised entrance coaching.
The government also cited repeated irregularities associated with the examination and the rapid growth of private coaching centres charging high fees. It said the NEET system had diverted students’ attention from the regular school curriculum towards entrance-oriented coaching.
Tamil Nadu has made several attempts to secure exemption from NEET. In 2021, the Assembly, under the then DMK government, passed the Tamil Nadu Admission to Undergraduate Medical Degree Courses Bill seeking to exempt the State from the examination.
The Bill was later reserved for the consideration of the President, but presidential assent was withheld.
Tuesday’s resolution renews Tamil Nadu’s demand for the Centre to change the existing legal framework and permit medical admissions based on higher secondary examination marks.
