A meeting of all party MLAs, convened by the Tamil Nadu government on Saturday, decided to consult legal experts to find ways of dispensing with medical admissions based on the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test and to take steps to formulate a unanimous opinion against the test in other States.
A resolution adopted at the meeting said NEET went against federalism and had dashed the hope of rural and poor students to enter higher educational institutions. Tamil Nadu was a model State for the other States in medical education and the health sector. NEET and the National Medical Commission Act had severely affected Tamil Nadu students, it said.
“NEET is against the autonomy of the States since it has taken away their rights to admit students to medical colleges launched with their own funds,” the resolution said.
Arguing that NEET favoured only students who could afford coaching classes, the resolution moved by Health Minister Ma. Subramanian said it had rendered school education irrelevant and destroyed the country’s federal character espoused by the Constitution.
It said the Governor’s failure to send to the President the Bill adopted by the Tamil Nadu Assembly against NEET would not augur well for the sovereignty of the House.
Recalling Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s meeting with the Governor and the efforts made by a delegation of Tamil Nadu MPs to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the resolution said a team of all party MLAs would meet Mr. Shah, if he agreed.
Vanathi walks out
Though the BJP participated at the meeting, its MLA Vanathi Srinivasan staged a walkout, saying her party was not in agreement with the resolution against NEET. “A lot of students of government schools have cleared NEET. Even tribal students have secured admission to medical colleges after clearing the test,” she said.
