TN government renews call for total abolition of NEET

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday reiterated its opposition to NEET and similar entrance examinations for admission to higher education courses, urging that Class 12 marks alone should be the basis for admissions.

The state government conveyed its position during a meeting between the High-Powered Task Force on Examination Reforms, headed by Nandan Nilekani, and Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay at the Secretariat.

During the meeting, the state government reiterated that NEET and similar examinations should be abolished for admission to medical and other higher education courses.

The government also pointed out that the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly had unanimously adopted a resolution on August 11, 2026, opposing NEET.

The government maintained that admissions should instead be based on marks obtained by students in the Class 12 examinations, reiterating its stand against common entrance tests for higher education admissions.

The two months before, the Tamil Nadu Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution urging the Union government to do away with the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to undergraduate medical courses, citing repeated irregularities in the conduct of the examination, proliferation of coaching centres, and loss of lives.