Former judge harsh on the centre for imposing NEET on Tamil Nadu

Trichy: The retired Judge Madras High Court, D. Hariparanthaman criticized the union government for pushing down the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance test (NEET), on Tamil Nadu students looking for MBBS admissions, on Saturday. He also looked down upon the silence maintained by the government on the law enacted by Tamil Nadu against the test.

Speaking at a seminar and consultative meeting on the topic 'NEET-a threat and danger to our students', hosted by the Tamil Nadu Educationists' Forum here, the judge said "It is highly condemn able that the Union government is remaining silent without approving the act passed unanimously by the AIADMK, the DMK and the Congress in Tamil Nadu assembly not to conduct NEET in the state and to conduct the admissions for MBBS seats based on plus two marks."

The conference aimed at opposing NEET scheduled to be held all over the country on May 7, for admission of students to MBBS courses in government and private medical colleges. "The students are very curious and confused too. In Tamil Nadu, 98 % of the students study state syllabus whereas NEET will be based on CBSE syllabus. It will be only appropriate to admit the students based on the plus two marks. It is undemocratic to ask them to write NEET which is derived from some other syllabus," he said

Speaking about the doing away of the entrance examinations for admission to MBBS courses in the state in 2006, Hariparanthaman said that the proposed NEET brought a windfall for private coaching centers. "NEET paved the way for mushrooming of private coaching centers which are not affordable to poor rural students. When the state entrance exam was in force till 2006, the coaching centers were making a killing," he told the TOI.

Asked if the quality of uniform education in the state was at par with other syllabuses, Hariparanthaman said "NEET will not enhance the quality of education in the state. If the quality of the state syllabus is not meeting standards, it should be upgraded. Instead of doing so, it is not appropriate to impose CBSE-based NEET on the students."

He also held the system at fault for keeping education in the concurrent list.

"During emergency, education was included in the Concurrent List which requires the consent of the Union government for every move of the state government on education. It should be brought back to the purview of the state. Both the DMK and AIADMK failed to do anything on this aspect in the last 40 years," said Paranthaman.