BackNEET exam an injustice, should be replaced, Tamil Nadu Congress urges Stalin
NEET test should be replaced with an expert committee, Congress leader Alagiri suggested
PremiumTamil Nadu Congress Committee president K S Alagiri on Monday urged chief minister MK Stalin to remove "injustice" caused by the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). He said the students belonging to socially disadvantaged groups like the Backward Classes and Scheduled Castes studying in government schools were seriously affected due to the national medical entrance exam (NEET). However, he said, students who are from the CBSE and private schools get more opportunities to study medicine and this was "injustice.
The Congress leader suggested that NEET test should be replaced with an expert committee. A committee, he said, should be appointed to set criteria, and admissions to medical colleges should be based on reservation policy and primacy must be given to students of government schools.
Alagiri said that in 2018-19 and 2019-20, 700 aspirants from the state government-run institutions had cleared NEET test, but only nine of them got admission in state medical colleges. He said NEET has further increased the injustice.
In October 2020, the Tamil Nadu government introduced 7.5 per cent reservation in medical admissions to government school students who cleared NEET. The move was taken to help the students who despite doing well could not make the cut.
Still, Alagiri said, only 405 students who studied in government schools could get admission in state-run medical colleges, while about 3,000 seats (of government colleges) went to those from the CBSE and other private schools.
The Congress leader said that the time had come for the state to remove this injustice and improve the standard of education in state government schools.
Hence, Alagiri urged, Chief Minister Stalin should take all efforts to remove the "injustice" caused by NEET. Alagiri's requests come at a time when the state government is appealing the Centre to cancel this year's entrance exam due to Covid pandemic. Last week, Stalin wrote to Prime Minister Modi, urging him to cancel the exam and allow the state to fill the vacancy based on Class 12 marks.
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