'Each day costs lives': Stalin seeks President's nod to anti-NEET bill
The state government and the Governor are in a deadlock over the anti NEET bill which was passed in the legislative assembly and requires the later's approval.
In a fresh addition to the NEET question in Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister MK Stalin has written to President Draupadi Murmu, requesting her “immediate intervention” in the matter.
The state government and the Governor are in a deadlock over the anti-NEET bill which was passed in the legislative assembly and requires the later's approval.
The Tamil Nadu government opposes NEET as it “favours urban students” and those who can take “costly coaching classes”, Stalin said in a tweet where he highlighted key points of the letter to President Murmu.
The Stalin government in 2021 came up with the 'Tamil Nadu Admission to Under Graduate Medical Degree Courses Bill, 2021" based on recommendations of a committee chaired by Justice A.K Rajan.
The bill was introduced again in the state assembly after it was returned by the Governor.
“Since it was returned by the Hon'ble Governor after five months of delay, it was reintroduced in the Assembly and was passed again and sent again to the Governor for reserving the same to Hon'ble President. The Bill has not been provided assent till now and the students have been forced to undergo the NEET based admission process. This has caused immense anxiety and stress in the minds of the students and parents,” Stalin said.
“The NEET Exemption Bill passed by our government is the outcome of legislative consensus, stemming from the collective will of the people of Tamil Nadu,” he added.
The toll of NEET-related deaths in the state now stands at 16, as a student from Chromepet in Chennai and his father recently ended their lives.
Reason for such deaths is that the Governor failed to cancel NEET twice, Stalin said in a recent statement.
Apart from his letter to the President, Stalin recently also said that Education should be moved to the State list from the Concurrent list as it would pave the way to scrap NEET.
At present, NEET is the only entrance exam for admission to undergraduate medical courses anywhere in the country.
The test was announced in 2012 and quickly, several states, including Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, had opposed it.
It was implemented in 2016 in all states, except for Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. After a Supreme Court order, the exam was first held at national-level in 2017.
