In Delhi, Tamil Nadu Minister Seeks NEET Exemption, More Vaccine Doses

The Tamil Nadu government has urged the Centre to exempt the state from granting admission to medical courses on the basis of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).

State Health Minister Ma Subramanian met Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in Delhi today and requested him to allow Tamil Nadu government colleges to grant admission to undergraduate medical courses on the basis of marks scored by students in Class XII board exams.

The minister said the all-India examination "deprives students from rural areas who do not have access to coaching institutions".

The Tamil Nadu minister also cited the risks of holding the examination amid the pandemic and said it may turn out to be detrimental to the health and well-being of students. Earlier, Chief Minister M K Stalin had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to cancel NEET in view of the pandemic situation.

Since the all-India examination was introduced, successive governments in Tamil Nadu have avoided implementing it. They have argued that the exam puts at a disadvantage students from poor backgrounds and rural areas who cannot afford coaching for competitive exams.

During the UPA regime, when NEET was implemented, the then ruling DMK, a UPA ally, had managed to obtain presidential assent to exempt Tamil Nadu from NEET. When BJP came to power, it did not extend the exemption.

The AIADMK is now trying to pressure the state government over the issue. Last month, Leader of the Opposition and former Chief Minister Edapaddi K Palaniswami asked the government to clarify if the examination will be held in the state. He said there is confusion among students and parents on whether NEET will be held and reminded the ruling DMK of its poll promise of cancelling the examination after it came to power.

During his visit to the national capital, Mr Subramanian also met Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and reiterated the Tamil Nadu's demand for 1 crore doses of coronavirus vaccines.

On Tuesday, Chief Minister Stalin wrote to Prime Minister Modi, seeking his intervention to correct the "imbalance" in allocation of vaccine doses to Tamil Nadu. The Chief Minister also sought a special allocation of 1 crore vaccine doses.