Tamil Nadu CM Vijay seeks cancellation of NEET, says allow Class 12-based admission
The state argues that the exam gives an unfair advantage to rich, urban, English-speaking students, while talented students from poor rural backgrounds and regional-language schools are left behind.
PTC News Desk: The massive paper leak controversy surrounding the medical entrance exam NEET has once again given Tamil Nadu a reason to oppose the national-level test and demand its cancellation. On Thursday, Chief Minister Vijay urged the Central government to end NEET-based admissions for medical courses and allow states to admit students based on their Class 12 marks instead.
Tamil Nadu has opposed NEET from the start, with support from leaders across political parties. The state argues that the exam gives an unfair advantage to rich, urban, English-speaking students, while talented students from poor rural backgrounds and regional-language schools are left behind. Because of this, the state has repeatedly asked for exemption from NEET.
In a post on X, Vijay said this was not the first time the integrity of NEET had been questioned. He recalled that in November last year, Tamil Nadu approached the Supreme Court after the President withheld approval to the state’s NEET Exemption Bill. The bill, passed unanimously by the state assembly, aimed to bring back medical admissions based on Class 12 scores.
During the UPA government, former President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam had allowed Tamil Nadu to stay exempt from medical entrance exams, enabling the state to admit students based on Class 12 performance rather than a single entrance test. However, NEET was made compulsory nationwide in 2017 by the Central government, after which Tamil Nadu challenged the decision in the Supreme Court.