Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has urged the central government to approve the NEET Exemption Bill, which was unanimously passed by the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. The bill seeks to exempt Tamil Nadu from the NEET examination and allow medical student admissions based on the 12th class marks obtained in school education.
During a session in the Legislative Assembly, Chief Minister Stalin presented a resolution arguing that the NEET examination system deprives state governments of the right to admit students to state medical colleges. He asserted that the central government should abolish the NEET examination system, which has significantly affected the chances of poor rural students gaining admission to medical colleges and rendered school education unnecessary for medical admissions.
Chief Minister Stalin highlighted various allegations of corruption and malpractice associated with the NEET examination. He pointed out that question papers had allegedly been leaked in several examination centres and that answer sheets had been tampered with, which had caused distress to students and their families. Although the central government initially denied these allegations, it later replaced the head of the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the exam, after the Supreme Court criticised the government. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has since ordered an inquiry into these allegations, and the entrance exam for postgraduate medical courses has been cancelled.
Stalin emphasised that Tamil Nadu has long opposed the NEET examination and that protests against it are now emerging in various states. He cited West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has written to the Prime Minister requesting that medical admissions be returned to state control. Similarly, other prominent leaders, including Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav, and Leader of Opposition in Bihar Tejashwi Yadav, have also demanded the cancellation of the NEET exam.
The resolution calls for the central government to approve the NEET Exemption Bill to allow medical admissions based on 12th class marks and to make necessary amendments to the National Medical Commission Act to abolish the NEET examination system nationwide. This move aims to address the irregularities and ensure that state governments can control medical admissions.
The resolution brought by Chief Minister MK Stalin was passed unanimously by the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.