With the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for medical admissions turning into a hot political issue, AIADMK leader and Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Thursday announced that if re-elected, her government would take steps to spare students the ordeal of appearing for the test.
If need be, the State would enact legislation to ensure that students are admitted to medical courses based on their performance in the Class XII board examination, as is the case now, Ms. Jayalalithaa told a mammoth gathering in Palayamkottai.
The AIADMK leader used the occasion to hit out at the DMK which, she said, did not prevent the UPA Government from filing an appeal challenging the Supreme Court’s 2013 verdict quashing the Medical Council of India’s order making the NEET mandatory for MBBS/BDS admissions in the country.
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She contended that her government was always against conducting entrance examinations for admission to professional courses. She had abolished the Tamil Nadu Professional Courses Entrance Examination in 2005 and subsequently enacted legislation the next year to give effect to it.
The Madras High Court had quashed the legislation, but later a new law was enacted (by the succeeding DMK government) to admit students to engineering and medical colleges based on their Plus-Two exam results.
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However, in December 2010, the MCI had made the NEET mandatory.