CHENNAI: Anti-corruption organisation Arappor Iyakkam urged the State government to unambiguously clarify whether or not Bachelor of Naturopathy and Yogic Sciences (BNYS) was a real medical course.

In a petition to Chief Minister MK Stalin, Health Minister M Subramanian and senior officials concerned, Jayaram Venkatesan, convenor of the organisation, said students were being told that the course was a medical course and they would be registered as doctors. However, there was no legislation for running the course, Bachelor of Naturopathy and Yogic Sciences (BNYS).

"The legality of Bachelor of Naturopathy and Yogic Sciences being called as a medical/doctor course by none other than a government college functioning under Tamil Nadu government is raising a lot of questions and confusion," the petition added.

The organisation also pointed out that when NEET was mandatory for all medical courses, it was advertised that BNYS was the only medical course that did not require NEET. If BNYS was covered under the National Commission for India System of Medicine Act, 2020 (previously known as the Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970), NEET would naturally be mandatory for BNYS.

"Since this BNYS is not covered under any of the central government Acts, obviously NEET is not required. But then, what is the validity of calling it a medical course at all when it is not governed by any Act? If the Tamil Nadu government can themselves run medical courses with a series of GOs, etc., then why can't we do the same for MBBS, Siddha and others eliminating NEET for those courses too," Jayaram asked.

Saying that there was going to be counselling for students shortly, he said it was important for the government to clarify to students if the course was really a medical course or not. "If it is indeed a medical course, under which Act of the central government and under which council of which Act can they be registered as doctors needs to be clarified beyond ambiguity and published in all relevant places," he urged.