CHENNAI: Riding high on the success of the Jallikattu Bill that effectively insulated the State from a Central law, the Tamil Nadu government has now set its eyes on the controversial uniform medical entrance test.
According to highly placed sources in the Health Department, the State government is likely to amend the Indian Medical Council Act, 2016, exempting it from the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). The Bill is likely to be introduced in the current Assembly session, but can come into force only if it gets the consent of the Governor, Centre and the President.
The Bill, according to sources, would allow the State to continue with its existing admission policy for both UG and PG courses. Since all political parties in the State have unanimously opposed NEET, the Bill is unlikely to stumble upon a roadblock in the Assembly.
Earlier in Tamil Nadu, 85 per cent of the undergraduate admissions, both medical and dental, were done through a single-window system organised by the Tamil Nadu Directorate of Medical Education based on the marks scored in Class XII.
The remaining seats were filled based on the national-level All India Pre Medical/Dental Test. In an attempt to make medical admission uniform, the Supreme Court in April 2016 made NEET mandatory across the country.
The State vigorously opposed NEET, saying it would negatively impact rural, poor and State Board students who cannot afford expensive coaching for the entrance examinations.
Tamil Nadu also issued an Ordinance in May 2016 exempting NEET for a year. The issue also figured in the recent meeting between Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where the former sought a permanent exemption. The rallying cry against NEET reached its peak during the protests at Marina last week. ‘Scrap NEET’ was one of the several demands raised by those protesting for a permanent solution to jallikattu.
In this backdrop, the State Government has planned to bring in one of the most-sought after amendments to a Central Act in the State Assembly’s current session - most likely on Monday.
While Health Minister C Vijayabaskar reiterated that the State was opposed to NEET but refused to comment on the plans, sources say that the government has already given verbal instructions to continue preparatory works for the medical counselling, as per the old format, for the upcoming academic year.
However, what remains to be seen is if the Central government would extend the same support for the Bill as it did in the case of jallikattu.