NEET Ban: The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the governing party in Tamil Nadu, has been fervently protesting the administration of the NEET examination, emphasizing its drawbacks, which include its
NEET Ban: The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the governing party in Tamil Nadu, has been fervently protesting the administration of the NEET examination, emphasizing its drawbacks, which include its impact on the mental well-being of both children and their parents. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has even urged President Droupadi Murmu to give assent to the state’s anti-NEET bill at the earliest, taking up the matter with her during her visit here.
Taking to X(formally Twitter), Chief Minister M K Stalin wrote, “On behalf of the people of Tamil Nadu, I have again conveyed our unanimous plea to Honble President@rashtrapatibhvn, Tmt Droupadi Murmu, for justice to our students in the NEET issue. Under our continued quest for equity, let’s unite for the lakhs of our deserving students, who are anxiously awaiting the Presidential assent to the #NEET Exemption Bill. Their hopes and aspirations rest on this decision, which should brook no further delay. Doing away with NEET is the collective will of the people of Tamil Nadu. We will see to it that it is done!.”
On behalf of the people of Tamil Nadu, I have again conveyed our unanimous plea to Honble President @rashtrapatibhvn, Tmt Droupadi Murmu, for justice to our students in the NEET issue.
Under our continued quest for equity, let’s unite for the lakhs of our deserving students,… pic.twitter.com/upOmrB4aQb
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) October 27, 2023
The Tamil Nadu Admission to Under Graduate Medical Degree Courses Bill, 2021, originally passed in September that year by the state Assembly, was returned by State Governor RN Ravi later. The Bill sought exemption for Tamil Nadu from the ambit of the National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test (NEET). It was reintroduced and adopted by the Assembly in February 2022 and sent again to the Governor for ‘reserving’ the same for Presidential assent, Stalin said in the letter to Murmu. As per a PTI report, the Governor has now forwarded it to the Union Home Ministry. Stalin told Murmu the Bill “has been pending for the Presidential assent for more than a year.”.
“All the clarifications sought on the Bill by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs based on the comments of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Department of Higher Education, MoE and Ministry of Ayush have been provided expeditiously. Since there had been no progress after our replies, in my letter dated August 14, 2023, I had highlighted the various adverse impacts due to this delay like the lost opportunities for the underprivileged students and many student suicides and had urged you to grant assent without any further delay,” Stalin said in his communication to the President, PTI reported.
The latest queries from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare have also been replied to. “But unfortunately, the assent to our Bill has not been provided till now. In this scenario, I once again wish to reiterate that the inordinate delay in granting assent to our Bill has deprived medical admissions for many deserving students who could not afford costly coaching facilities and has effectively stalled the intent of the broad legislative, political and social consensus in Tamil Nadu.”. “I, therefore, solicit your kind and immediate intervention in this sensitive issue and urge you to accord assent to the above Bill at the earliest,” he further added.
The DMK has been opposed to the central qualifying test, insisting it was against social justice and the interests of rural medical aspirants. “Considering the fact that the NEET based medical selection process is against students from poor and disadvantaged backgrounds, Tamil Nadu has opted for the MBBS selection process through the +2 (class 12) marks. This process has served our state’s interests well in the past but had to be discontinued due to the Union Government’s introduction of NEET and subsequent changes in Union legislations,” the CM said.
Udhayanidhi Stalin Participates In ‘Signature Campaign’ Against NEET Exam
Last week, the DMK initiated a statewide signature drive in opposition to the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) being held in Tamil Nadu. This campaign was officially inaugurated by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin. State Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs, Udayanidhi Stalin launched an “egg campaign” as a satirical response to the Union government’s decision to reduce the qualifying percentile for PG Courses (Medical) for NEET PG Counselling 2023 to ‘ZERO’ across all categories. Udhayanidhi officially inaugurated the signature campaign opposing NEET by being the first to sign a postcard at Kalaivanar Arangam in Chennai. Similarly, Chief Minister M K Stalin also endorsed his opposition to NEET by signing a postcard during a gathering of social media influencers in Chennai.
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