Coaching centres boom, charging huge fees: Why CM Vijay's govt wants NEET abolition
State health minister KG Arunraj said the examination had “diverted focus of students” from the curriculum followed by schools to coaching.
The Tamil Nadu legislative assembly recently approved a resolution to abolish the NEET system for undergraduate medical admissions, citing its negative impact on students. Health Minister KG Arunraj argued that NEET has diverted students' focus from their school curriculum to expensive coaching centers, resulting in a “proliferation of coaching centres that charge exorbitant fees.”
The resolution comes amid growing protests across India over alleged irregularities in NEET and the paper leak scandal, which led to the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Arunraj further asserted that NEET is against “social justice, equality, and state rights” and unfairly disadvantages rural and socio-economically disadvantaged students, particularly those studying in Tamil medium schools.
The Tamil Nadu government has previously expressed concerns over the exam's adverse effects on these students and its reliance on costly coaching classes. The resolution calls for amending central laws to abolish NEET for undergraduate medical course admissions, with the state government proposing that admissions be based on Class 12 examination marks, similar to a previous DMK government's stance.
While the ruling DMK and its allies supported the resolution, the lone BJP MLA walked out during the vote, and a BJP MLA opposed the resolution, arguing that NEET encourages students and citing an example from Pollachi where 10 students from the same school cleared the exam.
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