Tamil Nadu Assembly unanimously passes resolution to scrap NEET

Urges Central government to allow State governments to undertake medical admissions based on Class 12 marks

Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Assembly unanimously passed a resolution against the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET), urging the Union government to scrap NEET and allow State governments to undertake medical admissions based on class 12 marks, as was done before NEET’s implementation.

The resolution was introduced by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin amid uproar over a paper leak in the NEET-UG 2024 examination and the sudden postponement of the NEET-PG 2024 examination.

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Several regional parties, including Manithaneya Makkal Katchi, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, and the Communist Party of India (Marxist), supported the resolution.

Earlier, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP K. Kanimozhi reiterated the demand to “exempt” Tamil Nadu from NEET, conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for medical admissions across the country.

“Tamil Nadu has been consistently saying that we do not want NEET. Now it is proved that NEET is not a fair examination, and students are losing so much because of NEET,” Kanimozhi said.

She said that the state assembly passed a resolution to scrap the national-level entrance exam and also “exempt” the state from it. “We want NEET to be abolished. We have passed a resolution in our Assembly, and it is still pending with the President for signature,” Kanimozhi said. The DMK MP further mentioned that the lives of students are affected while waiting for the President’s approval.

The NEET-UG 2024 Examination, conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on May 5, took place at 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 cities abroad, with over 23 lakh candidates appearing. An unprecedented 67 candidates achieved a perfect score of 720 marks out of 720, leading to widespread protests in the country.

The Ministry of Education stated that it has constituted a high-level committee of experts to recommend reforms in the examination process, improvements in data security protocols, and the functioning of the NTA.