CHENNAI: The Communist Party of India (Marxist), in its plea to the Madras High Court, has stated that after the introduction of NEET, the number of government school students securing government seats in medical colleges has dropped drastically.
The submission was made by the CPI(M), seeking impleadment in a petition moved by BJP State general secretary Karu Nagarajan challenging the constitution of a nine-member committee by the ruling DMK government to study the impact of NEET on socially-deprived students. CPI(M) State secretary K Balakrishnan said Nagarajan’s petition was premature and liable to be dismissed.
According to the petitioner, the Justice AK Rajan committee is merely a fact-finding body to review and study the impact of NEET in Tamil Nadu, and does not affect the rights of any person. The petitioner alleging that the exercise is futile and a waste of public money shows his lack of application of mind, the submission stated.
Before the introduction of NEET in 2017, there were 22 government medical colleges in Tamil Nadu. Ninety per cent of students admitted to these colleges were from government schools, aided schools or low-cost private schools teaching the State Board syllabus.
In 2016, a total of 600 students from Tamil-medium government schools joined medical courses. However, after the introduction of NEET, the number of government school students securing seats in government medical colleges dropped to a paltry five in 2017, seven in 2018, and zero in 2019, he added.
The petition is expected to be heard on July 13 by the first bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee, along with the batch of impleading applications moved by various parties against the BJP plea.
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Before NEET, 90% of students at TN govt medical colleges were from govt schools, aided schools or low-cost private schools teaching the State Board syllabus. But after NEET, the number dropped to a five in 2017, seven in 2018, and zero in 2019, he added.