Law ministry clears Tamil Nadu ordinance on NEET

New Delhi: The law ministry cleared an ordinance of the Tamil Nadu government which seeks to exempt medical students from appearing in the common entrance test NEET, a senior official said.

Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad cleared the draft ordinance in consultation with Attorney General K K Venugopal.

The official, who requested anonymity, said the ordinance will be applicable only to government colleges, and not private ones.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami, state ministers, and Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai had multiple meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other central ministers over NEET.

The NEET is an entrance examination for students who wish to study MBBS and BDS courses in government or private medical colleges. It is conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).

The NEET replaced the All India Pre Medical Test (AIPMT) and all individual MBBS exams conducted by states or colleges.

However, many colleges and institutes had taken a stay order and conducted private examinations for admission to their MBBS and BDS courses.

Tamil Nadu, which had initially sought permanent exemption from NEET by passing two bills in the Assembly, later made efforts to be out of its ambit for at least a year or two.

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported that Tamil Nadu Ministers in the face of increasing pressures from the state met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home minister Rajnath Singh for their demand on behalf of the state to be exempted from NEET, in order to have rural candidates benefit from it.

The Tamil Nadu Admission to MBBS and Dental Courses Act, 2017means to do away with any entrance exam for UG medical courses and instead seeks that students be admitted based on their class 12 marks.

Read also: NEET Exemption: TN Ministers meet PM