Tirunelveli: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, recently addressing his first Lok Sabha election rally in Tamil Nadu, dubbed the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, NEET as 'anti-poor.'
"I know, the people of Tamil Nadu have a big issue with NEET. We are going to leave the decision to the state; on whether you want to do NEET or not to do NEET. NEET is an anti-poor exam and we are more than happy to allow you (Tamil Nadu) to take a decision on whether or not to take the exam," said Rahul Gandhi as quoted by PTI
NEET was introduced in India as a centralized test for admitting medical students at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. However, since its inception, Tamil Nadu has been protesting against the same as after the test was introduced more than a dozen students of underprivileged social backgrounds committed suicide. These students belonging to remote areas were unable to access the necessary resources for clearing the entrance examination.
It was on December 21, 2010, the Medical Council of India (now replaced by the National Medical Commission) issued a notification making NEET mandatory for admission to medical courses. A similar notification was issued by the Dental Council of India (DCI) in 2012 and subsequently, a common entrance was brought for admission to homoeopathy and Indian medicine courses as well.
Prior to NEET, Tamil Nadu used to hold its own Common Entrance Test (CET) for admission to medical colleges in the state for filling the state seats.
Several deliberations and protests staged over the years seeking NEET exemption in the state resulted in the formation of the Anti-NEET bill, which was passed in the Tamil Nadu assembly. The Centre had also sought clarifications from the state on the bill.
However, the bill has not come into effect as the Governor forwarded it seeking President's assent, which has not been granted till date. Last year, the matter reached Supreme Court also as the State of Tamil Nadu filed a lawsuit challenging the validity of the MBBS entrance test. The State had argued that the introduction of NEET is violative of the federal structure, as it takes away the power of the States to admit students to Government Seats in medical colleges.
The SC, in January this year, junked the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that challenged the signature campaign against the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) exams.
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