Exempt Tamil Nadu forever: Jayalalithaa plea to Modi

Thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the ordinance on NEET, Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa on Wednesday demanded that Tamil Nadu should permanently be kept out of the entrance test, which she said, was “out of tune” with the prevailing socio-economic milieu and administrative requirements of the state.

In a letter to Mr Modi, the chief minister said government seats in government and private medical colleges are being filed through counselling based on the marks that students score in Plus-2.

Noting that the ordinance will temporarily address the issue for the current year, Ms Jayalalithaa said Tamil Nadu’s situation is distinct and different from other states as it had instituted the Tamil Nadu Admission in Professional Educational Institutions Act 2006 which has received presidential assent.

Admitting students into medical colleges without an entrance test is to ensure a level-playing field for students, the chief minister said and introduction of NEET will be a direct infringement on the rights of the state. “(It) would cause grave injustice to the students of Tamil Nadu who have already been covered by a fair and transparent admission policy laid down by the government of Tamil Nadu, which has been working well,” she said in the letter.

Rural students will be put to disadvantage if the NEET comes into force as they lack the resources to enrol in training institutions and access materials available to urban students, she said.

The introduction of NEET will nullify the implementation of these policy initiatives and socio-economic objectives of the state, as the regulations for a national test may not have such enabling provisions.

“The National Test is out of tune with the prevailing socio-economic milieu and administrative requirements of Tamil Nadu. In these circumstances, I request that necessary measures may be taken to ensure that Tamil Nadu is permitted to continue its existing fair and transparent system of admission to medical colleges and dental colleges in the State and not forced to implement the NEET even in the future,” she said.