Forum continues to raise pitch against NEET

Explaining their stance after dashing off a petition to the President of India, Prince Gajendra Babu, General Secretary, SPCSS-TN said, “Last year Tamil Nadu was exempted from writing NEET because of the variation in syllabus. The situation has not changed this year. This makes the President’s assent inevitable. Secondly, in 2006, the Union Ministry of MHRD said the State Bill does not conflict with the Central Bill because the situation in a particular state is different and there is a reason why there is a different regulation in place. As per that TN must be exempted from writing NEET.” 

Petition requesting expeditious action to grant the President’s Assent to the Tamil Nadu Admission to MBBS and BDS Courses Act, 2017, and the Tamil Nadu Admission to Post Graduate Courses in Medicine and Dentistry Act, 2017, has got the support of the Rajya Sabha MP TK Rangarajan. 

According to those opposing NEET, private coaching centres are the only ones that will be benefited from NEET apart from the financially privileged. “People in urban areas can afford these places but what about those living in villages, who have no access to such facilities. Parents, who are not educated will, have no idea about such facilities,” said Justice D. Hariparanthaman. 

He further explained that when the state did away with the common entrance examinations in 2006, students were admitted in medical colleges based on their Class 12 exams.

“The reason why the Central government wants to introduce NEET is to make admissions based on merit and to bring in transparency,” it is believed. Ninety-eight per cent of the students belong to the government schools, government-aided and matriculation schools for which the curriculum and syllabus are different, and one has to study a lot while preparing for NEET. “The students are already going through tremendous pressure and preparing for NEET will only add to the burden,” added D Hariparanthaman. 

He further said, “NEET is not concerned about socially or educationally backward classes and it is only concerned about ‘merit’. While doing so, the disadvantaged section of the society will be kept out of the race for Under Graduate Medical Courses and the affluent will completely occupy the medical colleges.” Meanwhile, protests have been planned against NEET all over Tamil Nadu.