Chennai, 13 September
The Tamil Nadu Assembly on Monday adopted a bill to do away with the National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test (NEET) and for admission to medical courses on the basis of Class XII marks to ensure social justice.
Bills passed in 2017 for the same purpose during the AIADMK regime did not get the assent of the President.
The passage of the bill comes against the backdrop of a medical candidate’s suicide fearing the result of the national examination and the incident echoes in the House, with the main opposition targeting the AIADMK government.
Chief Minister MK Stalin introduced the bill and all parties, including the main opposition AIADMK and its ally PMK, among others like the Congress, supported it and it was passed by voice vote.
It seeks to provide admission to UG courses in Medicine, Dentistry, Indian Medicine and Homeopathy on the basis of marks obtained in the qualifying examination (Class XII). Opposing this move of the government, the opposition BJP staged a walkout.
Earlier, as soon as the proceedings of the House began, Leader of Opposition K Palaniswami on Sunday referred to the suicide of 19-year-old Dhanush in his native Salem district and targeted the government over the matter.
He said that though DMK had promised to cancel NEET, it was not done and many students did not prepare well. Speaker M Appavu deleted some of his comments.
Palaniswami sought a job for a person from the family of the deceased besides cash assistance.
The legislators of the opposition party, who came to the House wearing black badges, staged a walkout under the leadership of Palaniswami.
Hours before appearing for NEET for the third time, Dhanush, a resident of a village near Salem, committed suicide fearing the result of the exam. The incident triggered a blame game, with the AIADMK blaming the DMK regime for the death and the state government targeting the Centre.
Stalin, in his reply, said that NEET was conducted for the first time in Tamil Nadu when Palaniswami was the Chief Minister and was not conducted even when the late J Jayalalithaa was the Chief Minister.
Recalling the suicide deaths of students, including S Anita, in recent years, he said all this happened when Palaniswami was the chief minister.
Student Dhanush, who took this extreme step, could not clear the exam twice when AIADMK was in power.
Stalin also hit out at the AIADMK for rejecting bills enacted during his rule in 2017 to free the state from the purview of NEET and “hide” it from the House.
Stalin introduced the bill and appealed to all to support it for social justice, indicating that this initiative will be different from the one taken during the AIADMK regime.
When the bill was taken up for consideration hours later, Palaniswami recalled the efforts made by the AIADMK government to free Tamil Nadu from the purview of NEET, including the adoption of two bills in 2017. Later, he said that the AIADMK government provided 7.5 per cent internal. Reservation for government school students in admission to medical courses who have cleared NEET.
On Stalin’s assertion that the present effort was different from those made during the AIADMK regime, the Leader of the Opposition said the only difference was the reference to the recommendations of a high-level panel headed by Justice AK Rajan.
Palaniswami also pointed to Central Acts and a Supreme Court judgment on the subject and asked whether a State Bill could prevail, considering such aspects. Ultimately, he said the AIADMK, however, supported the bill.
The Chief Minister welcomed the support of the main opposition party for his government’s move on NEET and recalled that in the past, when the DMK was in opposition, it had supported the then AIADMK government on the issue of Jallikattu.
When BJP’s Nainar Nagendran insisted that NEET had its advantages and said that the pass percentage in the exam was increasing from TN, he saw ministers’ intervention.
When Nagendran said that NEET is only an exam like IAS and TN Public Service Commission, Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan said that such exams had other features including interview and the comparison was not correct. The minister said the BJP MLA should also specify whether he was referencing from a report and avoid generalizations while speaking on pass percentage in subjects like anatomy and biochemistry (after the introduction of NEET).
Stalin said that aspects like pass percentage are not important. So far 15 candidates have died by suicide and keeping these things in mind, the Bill has been introduced. “Our aim is that their sacrifice does not go in vain.
Opposing the bill, Nagendran led his party’s walkout in protest against the bill.
Later, the TN Admission Bill, 2021 in Undergraduate Medical Degree Courses was declared adopted by Speaker Appavu.
Citing the recommendations of a high-level committee, the Bill states that the government has decided to enact a law to do away with the requirement of NEET for admission to UG medical courses.
While granting admission to such courses on the basis of marks obtained in Class 12 and through “normalization methods”, the statement of objectives and reasons states that it is to ensure “upholding social justice, equality and equal opportunity”. . It is also meant to protect all vulnerable student communities from discrimination and bring them into the mainstream of medical and dental education and in turn “ensure a strong public health care across the state, especially in rural areas”. PTI