Of suicides and a few other reasons why Tamil Nadu is opposing NEET

The state says poor students from Tamil-medium are unable to crack the test. Move against NEET gathered steam after a 17-year-old from a Dalit family committed suicide

The move by the Tamil Nadu government to reach out to 11 non-BJP states and Goa, seeking their support in the battle against the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) is being touted as yet another state-versus-Centre battle over federal rights.

In September, the Tamil Nadu Assembly had passed the Tamil Nadu Admission to Undergraduate Medical Degree Courses Bill, which seeks a permanent exemption for the state students from appearing for the NEET. According to the state, students from poor and Tamil-medium backgrounds are unable to crack the test, while those who are appearing for coaching classes and also CBSE and English medium schools are having an upper hand.

This bill was following a series of suicides by medical aspirants in the state, and also based on a report by Justice A K Rajan committee. It was not just Tamil Nadu, but even states like Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Karnataka were in the forefront of the opposition against the centralised exams in its initial stage. Following a long legal battle, it was again reinstated in 2016 by the Supreme Court.

The state’s opposition against NEET gathered steam following the suicide of S Anitha, a 17-year-old daughter of a Dalit daily wager, after the apex court ruled against her stating that medical college admissions in Tamil Nadu will be based on the NEET. She was one of the respondents in the case. Anitha failed in NEET exams even after scoring 98 per cent (1,176 out of 1,200 marks) in her class 12 exams. After the M K Stalin government took charge, the state was in the forefront of the anti-NEET agitation. For this, the state had been highlighting Rajan report, which was citing alarming numbers.

Key Highlights of Rajan Report

The report cited that the high fee structure in coaching classes is affordable only for the rich and urban aspirants, while 95 per cent of the Tamil Nadu State Board of Secondary Education students are unable to afford it. The report cites that the state has more than 400 coaching centers that are doing an approximate business of around Rs 5,750 crore per annum.

The comparison between the Pre-NEET and post 2017 period by the committee is backing the state’s argument. The percentage of rural students getting medical admission came down from 65.17 per cent in 2016-17 in the pre-NEET year to 49.91 per cent in 2020-21. Similarly, the number of Tamil-medium students came down from 14.88 per cent in 2016-17 to 1.99 per cent in 2020-21. A similar drop was seen in the number of state board students too as compared to a rise in the number of students from schools under the Central Board of Secondary Education. The rate of CBSE students getting admissions in government medical colleges increased from almost zero in 2015-16 to 26.83 percent in 2020-21. In self-financing colleges too, the number of CBSE students saw an increase from 0.07 percent in 2015-16 to 12.01 percent during the last financial year.

It also cited that repeaters going to coaching classes are having an upper hand, with the share of repeaters who have secured admissions in MBBS programmes zoomed to 71.42 per cent in 2020- 21 from 12.47 in 2016-17.

Though experts indicate that the bill may need President’s clearance and may not even stand legally, the state in all likely may see a Jallikettu-like protests, if the government and the opposition decides to join hands on the issue.