Jayalalithaa: Will scrap medical entrance test

AIADMK general secretary J. Jayalalithaa assured here on Thursday that if her government was re-elected she would bring a special and stronger act against the All-India Pre-Medical and Dental Entrance Test (AIPMT) for the welfare of medical and dental aspirants from poor rural backgrounds.

She said the AIADMK government led by her was against conducting entrance examinations for admissions to medical and dental courses and hence, for the welfare of the poor rural medical aspirants, had in 2005 issued a GO cancelling the entrance examination.

“My government too brought in a new act on February 2006 against entrance examinations, based on which the entrance examinations for medical and dental courses were cancelled in the year 2007 and the admissions were carried out based on marks obtained by the students in the Plus-2 exam,” said Ms Jayalalithaa, who too added that the system that her government ensured was challenged by the Indian Medical Council which issued a circular to conduct a common entrance test on December 27, 2010, when the DMK was in government.

The AIADMK chief, accusing the DMK president of doing nothing except obtaining a stay for the Indian Medical Council notification, added that after she came to power at the state again in 2011, the state government strongly contested the medical council notification in the Supreme Court along with the opposition raised by several states.

Based on the valid points raised by the Tamil Nadu government on the issue, the Supreme Court on July 18, 2013 dismissed the 2010 notification of the Indian Medical Council, said Ms Jayalalithaa.

Recollecting that the DMK participated in the Congress-led UPA government’s opposition to the dismissal of the medical council notification, Ms Jayalalithaa said the Congress-led Central government too had filed a review petition to which the DMK president remained a silent spectator.