Tamil Nadu is unlikely to get exemption from NEET-based admissions to medical courses and therefore aspirants must start preparing for the competitive examination this year, senior academic and former Anna University Vice-Chancellor E. Balagurusamy said on Wednesday.
Defending the NEET, he contended that “false propaganda and assurances of some political leaders” discouraged and demotivated students. Dubbing as “misplaced confidence” the hope that the State would be exempted from NEET, in a statement he said the test has been mandated by the Supreme Court. “If at all, any State wants exemption, it should be approved by the Union Government and accepted by the Supreme Court. This is very unlikely to happen. Therefore, NEET will be there to stay,” Prof Balagurusamy, a votary of entrance examinations, said.
“I urge parents and the public not to fall prey to the false propaganda and assurances of some leaders with vested interests,” he said. According to him, students of Tamil Nadu were capable of facing entrance exams if provided with proper support and motivation. It was a misplaced belief that NEET undermined social justice. Claiming that NEET guaranteed equal opportunity for all medical aspirants, he disapproved of the argument that poor and rural students could not get through the entrance test.
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“Before NEET, only the rich students from private ‘coaching’ schools got admissions in large numbers. Where is social justice here,” he asked while calling for improving the quality of education in government schools instead of opposing the entrance test.