The Tamil Nadu assembly on Tuesday approved a bill to approve the 7.5% quota within the existing reserve for undergraduate medical courses for students of state government schools this academic year. It will be applicable to students who pass the National Entry and Eligibility Test (NEET).
Following the implementation of NEET, there were reports that the representation of public school students in the state’s medical colleges had been drastically reduced. Judge P Kalaiyarasan’s committee presented a report pointing out the huge disparities in the socioeconomic status of students in public and private schools. Only four public school students were admitted under the government quota during 2018-19 and five during 2019-20. The fee is also being considered in private medical schools.
For nearly a decade, Tamil Nadu had abolished the medical entrance exam, saying it created stress for students and poor students could not afford private training. Tamil Nadu’s chief minister, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, had previously urged the center to exempt the state from NEETs.
“It has been felt across the country that NEET not only gives students studying at CBSE schools an advantage, but is also very disadvantageous to the economically weaker section of society,” said Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP P Wilson. DMK floor leader in Rajya Sabha Tiruchi Siva said that this year, poor and rural students got a disadvantage on the NEET exam as they were unable to receive training due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Actor Suriya previously called NEET “Manuneedhi Thervu,” suggesting that students from well-to-do families benefited from NEET and the poor stayed out in the cold.
The 45-year-old actor also called for a movement for a united voice against NEETs, saying: “NEETs kill the dreams of doctors for children from poor families. We should not be silent bystanders to student deaths.”
More than 1.17 lakh applicants took the NEET 2020 exams at different centers in Tamil Nadu.
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