It is a matter of immense relief that the prolonged uncertainty over the medical admission process in Tamil Nadu is over. The entire process has been marked by anxiety for students and parents. That phase has ended, thankfully, but not without lessons for the State government. Unable to introduce legislative measures — or get favourable judicial orders — to exempt the State from the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), which the Supreme Court says must be the sole basis for medical admissions across the country, Tamil Nadu has at last released the merit list for MBBS seats based on NEET rankings. The Supreme Court gave a peremptory direction to the State to complete admissions by September 4 after a volte-face by the Centre, which had previously cleared an ordinance prepared by the State government to grant a year’s exemption from NEET for the State. This week the Centre informed the court that it was not in favour of giving “undue advantage” to one State. In any case, it was apparent that the ordinance would run into a judicial barrier. It was known that the Supreme Court would take a dim view of legislation aimed at giving selective exemption to one State. Last year, when the Centre granted a one-time exemption to the entire country, the Supreme Court had made its displeasure obvious. Against this backdrop, it may be valid to ask if giving the nod to the ordinance and then making an about-turn were no more than political manoeuvres on the part of the Centre.
The Tamil Nadu Assembly had passed two Bills to exempt the State from NEET permanently and sent them to the Centre for the President’s assent. When for months the assent did not come, the State government ought to have advised students to get ready for NEET. Closer to the admission season, it came out with a controversial order earmarking 85% of medical seats for State Board students. Predictably, it was struck down by the courts. Not chastened by judicial setbacks, the State government continued its ineffectual efforts to get an exemption, possibly because it could not admit its own failure to make the requisite changes in the school curriculum to make students NEET-ready. There is a flip side to the controversy: whether in the interest of uniform admission norms, an unwilling State should be forced to adopt a national test prepared on the basis of a syllabus not familiar to a majority of its students, especially rural students. With NEET becoming the sole admission gate, there may be no scope for an exemption, but the test itself could be made more accessible. The long-term solution for Tamil Nadu lies in upgrading academic standards in its schools. As for the Centre, it could help by drawing up a fresh syllabus standard for NEET after consulting the States, which necessarily have differing school-level standards. Tamil Nadu cannot afford a repeat of this year’s fiasco.