The State government has opposed the Centre’s plan to seek a review of the Supreme Court’s verdict that quashed the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for medical courses.
Urging Prime Minister Manmohan Singh against such a move by the Centre, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, in a letter on Sunday, said NEET would be out of tune with the prevailing socio-economic milieu and administrative requirements of the State.
A fair and transparent admission policy of the State government was working well, she said in the letter, details of which were released to media on Monday.
The Supreme court had quashed the notification of the Medical Council of India and the Dental Council of India introducing NEET for undergraduate and postgraduate medical and dental courses.
Reintroduction of NEET, Ms.Jayalalithaa said, would infringe on the State’s rights and admission policies to medical institutions in Tamil Nadu. A common entrance test such as NEET would confuse the smooth implementation of the State’s reservation policy, both in undergraduate and postgraduate medical and dental admissions.
For PG courses, the State government gave preference to those who had served in rural areas and a special weightage to those working in hilly and tribal areas. The reintroduction of NEET would affect implementation of these policy initiatives and socio-economic objectives of the State “since we would have to fall in line with the regulations of the national test, which did not have such enabling provisions,” she said.
By successfully obtaining and enforcing bonds from those completing PG education in government medical colleges to serve the State government for a minimum period also helped meet the need for specialist medical manpower in government hospitals, she said.