Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami on Wednesday said the 7.5 per cent reservation provided to government school students in medical education would ensure over 400 such seats for them this year, as against the mere six earlier. The government introduced the said quota after he was 'moved' by the plight of these students unable to pursue medical education, the chief minister said.

The reservation would help government school students get 405 seats in its introductory 2020-21 academic year, he said at the medical counselling, where he gave away orders to students who were beneficiaries of the new quota. The Tamil Nadu Assembly had earlier adopted a bill envisaging 7.5 per cent reservation in undergraduate medical courses to government school students who have cleared the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET).

Also Read:MBBS Counselling 2020: UP DGME extends Admission process of allotted candidates

Governor Banwarilal Purohit had given his assent to the quota bill on October 30, a day after the government took the executive route and issued an order for implementing the quota from this year itself, amid pressure from political parties for its immediate enforcement.

On Wednesday, Palaniswami claimed credit for his government in transforming the lives of the government school students by facilitating their admissions in medical colleges through the 7.5 per cent reservation. "Being a student of a government school, I realised their plight and decided to improve their prospects in pursuing higher education, especially in the medical field. Hence, my government enacted the GO on 7.5 per cent (horizontal) quota," he said.

The reservation will help government school students get 405 seats - 313 MBBS and 92 BDS seats, he said. This was a steep rise from the mere six seats in the past for about 3,44,488 students from 3,054 government schools, constituting 41 per cent of the student population of about 8.41 lakh studying in Class XII, he said.

He said today's occasion marked a turning point in the lives of the state government run school students who secured seats in medical colleges, as their families would now be called 'doctor' families.

"Ours is a government that fulfills the aspirations of the poor. My government, through the quota, has shown that even government school students can become medical doctors. This will help them serve the poor people with dedication," he added.

Palaniswami recalled his government's consistent stand against NEET and having sought exemption for Tamil Nadu from the national test. It even waged a legal battle. The chief minister presented stethoscopes and aprons to 18 students and handed over seat allotment orders. He also announced post matric scholarship and education assistance to the students of government schools, including those run by panchayats, municipalities and corporations, welfare schools for AdiDravidar and tribals, among others.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Dr C Vijaya Baskar said he had met the students and parents, "who thanked the CM with tear-filled eyes for providing allotment orders under the (7.5 per cent) quota."

Also Read:DMK president demands to scrap NEET, PG Courses for medical colleges in TN