CHENNAI: DMK’s Rajya Sabha MP P Wilson on Friday moved a private Bill in the Parliament to amend the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India and bring education under the State List. His move came after Governor RN Ravi returned the Bill seeking to exempt Tamil Nadu from the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) to the State Assembly.
During the years of Emergency, education was moved to the Concurrent List from the State List. This meant Central legislation can override a State’s law in this subject. The private Bill reasoned that the State should have equal power to regulate education, admission to State-run institutions and universities. To substantiate the demand, the Bill stated that several States had achieved high rates of literacy through dedicated investment in the sector.
Highlighting the importance of the State’s role in education, the Bill said only State governments can ensure the reach of education to the grassroots. “Welfare schemes for a State-specific community/caste can be brought and implemented only by the State. Hence, allowing education to continue in the Concurrent List causes a grave threat to the federal structure,” the Bill stated.
Placing education on the Concurrent List is also in conflict with the State government’s reservation policy. While maintaining the Union government’s right to regulate education, the Bill said States’ should also have the power to do the same.
If passed, the Bill would empower the State government to scrap NEET for MBBS admissions in the State. However, given the lack of strength, passing of the Bill in Parliament might prove to be a difficult task.
The Bill stated that NEET took away the State government’s power to regulate admission to State-run institutions and its autonomy to regulate medical education.
Annamalai writes to Stalin on NEET row
Chennai: Explaining the reasons for boycotting the all legislature party meeting scheduled for Saturday, BJP State president K Annamalai, in his letter to the Chief Minister said the previous AIADMK government had adopted a NEET Bill and that was rejected by the President. As such, knowing fully well that this would also face the same fate, the DMK government repeated the same mistake.