CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday, October 4, 2021, wrote to 12 of his counterparts, all but one of whom head non-BJP ruled States, seeking support in opposing the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). Stalin also stressed the need to put up a united effort to restore the primacy of State governments in administering the education sector, as envisaged in the Constitution.
The letter, dated October 1, was addressed to the Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Jharkhand, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana, West Bengal, and Goa. A release said a team of MPs from the DMK will hand over the translated copy of the Justice AK Rajan Committee report on the impact of NEET on medical admissions in Tamil Nadu to the respective States, and will explain the efforts taken by TN so far in this regard, besides seeking their support.
Stalin said the AK Rajan committee was appointed to study whether or not the NEET-based admission process has affected socially backward students in the past few years and to suggest alternate admission procedures which would benefit all students.
The committee was also asked to look into the feasibility of implementing such alternatives and the legal steps to be undertaken to implement such fair and equitable methods. Based on the panel’s recommendation, the TN State Assembly recently passed the Tamil Nadu Admission to Undergraduate Medical Degree Courses Bill, 2021, seeking to exempt the State’s medical aspirants from NEET.
“Our considered position has always been that the move by the Union government to introduce NEET goes against the spirit of federalism and violates the constitutional balance of power by curbing the rights of the State governments to decide on the method of admission in the medical institutions founded, established, and run by them. In this regard, we consider that the State governments need to assert their constitutional right and position in deciding the method of admission to their higher educational institutions,” the Chief Minister pointed out.
Stalin also requested his counterparts to go through the documents and extend support in this regard to ensure the students of the respective States, hailing from rural areas and marginalised sections of the society, are not put to hardship in obtaining admissions to higher educational institutions.
Stresses on federalism
The Union government’s move to introduce NEET goes against the spirit of federalism and curbs State rights to decide on medical admission process, the letter stated.