TN takes legislative route to circumvent NEET, tables Bills

In a bid to continue in Tamil Nadu the present system of admitting students to MBBS, BDS and post graduate medicine and dentistry courses, two Bills were today introduced in the State Assembly apparently aimed at circumventing the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test.
In Tamil Nadu, admission to MBBS and BDS is being done on the basis of 12th standard marks, which is the qualifying examination, and admission to PG courses in medicine and dentistry is done on the basis of an entrance exam and experience.
Moving the Bills, Health Minister C Vijayabaskar in his Statement of Objects said admission to MBBS and BDS courses are done in the State as per the TN Admission in Profression Educational Institutions Act, 2006 adding admission to UG courses are on the basis of 12th Standard marks.

The Centre has amended the Indian Medical Council Act and the Dentists Act to conduct a uniform entrance exam (NEET) at the UG and PG level, he noted.
"The bulk of students who would appear for the uniform entrance exam in Tamil Nadu come from rural areas and facilities for them to access coaching classes to equip themselves for the examination are not available," he said and cited paucity of funds and economic conditions of students.
"It has been opined that the uniform entrance exam have become a traumatic experience for the parents and children as it appears to determine at one stroke the future of the child."

Plus two exam iself was a "serious exam of merit" casting a high burden on students, he said and added that it was very much an entrance test to get admitted to higher level professional courses obviating, hence, the need for any separate uniform entrance examination, which would be an additional burden on students, he said.

"The syllabus, methodology and the content of the uniform entrance exam (proposed by the Centre) is based on the syllabus prescribed for Higher Secondary Course of the CBSE which is different from the syllabus of the Tamil Nadu Board," he noted.
"Hence to meet such challenges of the Tamil Nadu students, the government has taken a policy decision to continue the present procedure of admission to MBBS and BDS coursees on the basis of the 12th standard marks," he said.

As regards, PG admissions, it is being done after excluding 50 per cent seats reserved for all India quota based on entrance examination and experience.
"Fifty per cent of seats in each specialty of the PG Courses is allocated to doctors in government service," he said adding on selection, the government doctors are required to serve the government till superannuation and non-service doctors to serve the State for not less than two years to provide quality health care to the people.
Under the cirucmstances, if the Uniform entrance exam is held by the Centre for admission to PG courses, the "scheme presently followed by the State would be thrown out of gear and the avowed objective of providing quality health care to the rural and needy would be defeated.