Tamil Nadu Has Had Enough of NEET — And the Latest Paper Leak Has Given Its Argument a Lot More Force
The medical entrance exam, NEET-UG, has been constantly under fire from the opposition due to paper leak. Following another paper leak, the criticism has reached its peak, and the opposition now wants the exam to be discontinued. Tamil Nadu has always opposed the entrance exam, and the newly elected state government has also opposed and sought the cancellation of the NEET exam. Chief Minister Vijay Rupani urged the central government to abolish the system and let the states fill seats based on Class 12th marks.
Across political lines, Tamil Nadu had opposed the entrance examination of NEET from the very beginning of its introduction. According to the state, it created an unequal system in favor of wealthy, urban, and English-medium candidates and failed the brilliant students from the rural areas with Tamil language skills. On this basis, Tamil Nadu has been seeking an exemption from the test.
Question on the credibility of NEET: CM Vijay
The Chief Minister wrote that it is not the first time that the credibility of NEET has been questioned and stated it is not the first time either as papers were leaked in 2024 too.
He wrote, "Papers were leaked in 2024 as well, and F.I.Rs were registered in six states, and they were later transferred to the CBI. 95 detailed recommendations were presented by an expert committee headed by the former ISRO Chairman Dr. K. Radhakrishnan to overhaul the examination system, but within 2 years, once again, we are witnessing another paper leak and the cancellation of the entrance test".
Admission based on Class 12 Marks: CM
The Chief Minister also said that the paper leak serves as "a strong indictment of the inherent flaws and structural deficiencies in the conduct of the examination nationally". He stated, "From its inception, the State Government has been consistently and unanimously opposing the conduct of NEET exam on the grounds that it causes severe discrimination to students coming from rural, government schools, students belonging to the Tamil speaking and socio-economically backward population. It is reiterated once again that the State Government requests for the abolition of the NEET system and for allowing admission to all the seats under the State quota for MBBS, BDS and AYUSH courses based on the marks secured in Class 12."
The previous Tamil Nadu government had also approached the Supreme Court last November challenging the President's denial of assent to the state's NEET Exemption Bill – a state law that was passed unanimously by the state legislature to reintroduce admission to the medical courses based on Class 12 marks.
During the UPA government led by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, who was then the President of India, had granted an exemption to the state from holding the entrance exams for medical admissions, allowing them to take admission based on the Grade 12 results. However, in 2017, the central government made it compulsory to take the NEET exam and then approached the Supreme Court.
