Tamil Nadu: On Monday, the Tamil Nadu Assembly passed a bill to scrap National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test (NEET) and provide for admission to medical courses based on Class XII marks to ensure social justice, to the medical aspirant fearing NEET. The incident echoed in the House with the main opposition AIADMK targeting the government over the suicide.
All parties, including the main opposition AIADMK and its ally PMK, besides others like Congress, supported the bill introduced by Chief Minister M K Stalin. The bill wants to provide for admission to UG courses in medicine, dentistry, Indian medicine and homoeopathy based on the marks obtained in the qualifying examination, (Class XII). The opposition BJP staged a walkout, protesting against the government move.
The government tabled the Tamil Nadu Anti-NEET Bill 2021 on the floor of the assembly. The bill read, “It has been passed to ensure social justice, upholding quality and equal opportunity to protect all vulnerable students’ community from being discriminated against and bring them to the mainstream education system. It is also to be noted that the number of applicants for the NEET examination dropped by 7% this year.”
The chief minister said that it was unfair to say that NEET improved the standard of medical examination. Even before 2017, Tamil Nadu had one of the highest numbers of medical and dental institutions. The standard of medical and dental professionals from these institutions was of high mettle. “Admission done based on the qualifying examination will in no way lower the standard of education, since the higher secondary syllabus is of sufficient standard. If the marks are adjusted through a normalisation method, it would provide a just, fair and equitable method of admission.” Stalin said.”I urge the legislators of all political parties to extend full cooperation in the NEET issue and support to create history in social justice,” he added.