NEET UG Exam Tamil Nadu Assembly passes Bill to released Medical Entrance Exam

Tamil Nadu Assembly on Monday September 13, 2021, adopted a bill to dispense with the NEET and provide for admission to medical courses based on Class 12th marks to ensure social justice, as the death by suicide of a medical aspirant fearing outcome of the test.

Chief Minister M. K. Stalin introduced the Bill and all parties, including the main opposition AIADMK and its ally PMK, besides others like Congress, supported the bill while its partner in the state BJP staged a walkout. The bill seeks to provide for admission to UG courses in medicine, dentistry, Indian medicine and homeopathy on the basis of marks obtained in the qualifying examination, (Class XII).

Introducing the Bill, Stalin appealed to all to support it for social justice. The Bill, referring to recommendations of a high-level committee, said the government has decided to enact a law to dispense with the requirement of NEET for admission to UG Medical degree courses and to provide admission to such courses on the basis of marks obtained in the qualifying examination, through "Normalisation methods".

It said the bill seeks to ensure "social justice, uphold equality and equal opportunity, protect all vulnerable student communities from being discriminated and bring them to the mainstream of medical and dental education and in turn to ensure a robust public health care across the state, particularly the rural areas."

NEET is the all-India level entrance examination for UG medical courses. This year, the exam was held on September 12 across the country.

On Sunday, hours before he was to appear for NEET for a third time, Dhanush, died by suicide, fearing the outcome of the test he was to take. The incident triggered a blame game with the AIADMK holding the DMK regime responsible for the death and the state government targeting the Centre.

Earlier this week, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi targeted the Centre for being "blind to student's distress" after the Supreme Court dismissed a petition seeking appropriate directions and orders to the authorities concerned for rescheduling or deferring the NEET UG 2021.