Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Assembly Tuesday adopted a resolution urging the Centre to abolish the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to undergraduate medical courses, reiterating the state’s long-standing opposition to the centralised entrance examination.
The resolution cited alleged irregularities in the conduct of NEET, the rapid growth of expensive coaching centres and the deaths of students as major reasons for seeking its abolition.
BJP MLA M. Bhojarajan opposed the resolution and staged a walkout before it was put to vote.
Moving the resolution in the House, state Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare Minister K.G. Arunraj called upon the Centre to amend relevant Central laws so that Tamil Nadu could admit students to medical courses based on their Class 12 examination marks.
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 related Central enactments governing medical admissions.
The government maintained that such amendments were necessary to restore the system of admitting students to undergraduate medical courses based on their performance in the higher secondary examination.
The resolution said Tamil Nadu had consistently opposed NEET on the grounds that the examination was against the principles of social justice and equality and affected the rights of states in matters concerning medical education.
It argued that the common entrance examination had disproportionately affected students from rural and economically disadvantaged backgrounds, particularly those who had studied in Tamil medium and those without access to expensive private coaching.
The government also blamed NEET for the proliferation of coaching centres charging high fees, saying the system had increasingly shifted students’ focus away from the regular school curriculum towards specialised entrance examination preparation.
Tuesday’s resolution marks another attempt by Tamil Nadu to press the Centre to change the medical admission system.
The Assembly had adopted similar resolutions seeking exemption from NEET in the past.
In 2021, when the DMK was in power, the Assembly passed the Tamil Nadu Admission to Undergraduate Medical Degree Courses Bill seeking to exempt the state from NEET.
The legislation was subsequently reserved for consideration of the President.
Presidential assent to the Bill was eventually withheld.
With the latest resolution, the state government has renewed its demand for a legal framework allowing Tamil Nadu to determine medical admissions on the basis of Class 12 marks instead of NEET.
