Tamil Nadu’s attempt to be exempted from NEET hit a roadblock on Friday when President Droupadi Murmu dismissed a bill that requested to permit medical admissions following Class 12 marks.
Chief Minister MK Stalin informed the Assembly that the Central government had rejected a bill, which was approved by the state assembly twice in 2021 and 2022 and had been awaiting approval since then.
Last year in June, the Tamil Nadu Assembly adopted a resolution requesting the central government to scrap NEET and permit states to make medical admissions on school marks. Once the bill was turned down, Chief Minister MK Stalin slammed the move and branded it an “insult” to the state and a “dark age of federalism”. He also referred to the existing tension between Tamil Nadu and the central government headed by the BJP on matters like delimitation and imposition of Hindi before the next elections.
Mr Stalin said in the Assembly that despite the Tamil Nadu government providing all necessary clarifications, the Central government rejected the State’s request for NEET exemption.
The Chief Minister then called for a meeting of all legislative parties to decide the future course of action. He assured that the State’s fight for exemption from NEET, which was made mandatory for medical admissions in 2017, will continue.
Sources say a meeting of all Tamil Nadu MLAs is likely to be held on April 9.
Mr Stalin emphasised that though the Central government has rejected the state’s request, the battle for NEET exemption is not over. He said they will consult legal experts for legal remedies to challenge the decision.
The state’s long-standing challenge to NEET argues that the exam favors students from wealthy families who can afford expensive coaching. The Tamil Nadu government believes using Class 12 marks for admissions will ensure social justice.
The NEET controversy has deepened in recent years due to several incidents, including tragic suicides by youth who failed to clear the exam and the leak of exam question papers.
Last year, some people asked the Supreme Court to cancel or re-conduct the 2024 NEET-UG exam, claiming the question paper had leaked 45 minutes before the test.
However, the court rejected these requests, saying the exam’s fairness was not affected.
It’s not just Tamil Nadu that is opposing the current system.
In July last year, Bengal also joined the protest by passing a resolution against the exam. State Education Minister Bratya Basu said the ruling Trinamool Congress had never supported a nationwide exam.
Other major opposition leaders, like Rahul Gandhi from the Congress and Tejashwi Yadav from the Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar, have also spoken out against NEET.
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