PMK youth leader and state assembly member Anbumani Ramadoss urged Justice AK Rajan to recommend to the government to form a coalition of state chief ministers to exempt NEET from the examination.
In this regard, a letter written by Anbumani Ramadoss to the panel of Justice AK Rajan was submitted yesterday (June 21) to the spokesperson of PMCA, advocate K.K. Judge AK Rajan was handed over by Balu.
Description of letter:
“In Tamil Nadu, as the chairman of the committee set up to look into the impact of NEET, I would like to express my congratulations and appreciation for the work they are doing to find out the truth.
Option needed – reasons given by the government
It seems like a gooseberry palm that the NEED exam has denied medical education to poor and rural students in Tamil Nadu. NEET exam is not about improving the quality of medical education, it is about encouraging private training institutes and creating business opportunities for them.
This was because I was well aware that until I was the Union Health Minister, the attempt to mandate the National Entrance Test for Medical Studies was not allowed. Then the NEET exam was announced for the first time in late 2010.
To raise the standard of medical education; The purpose of introducing the need exam for medical studies is to stop the commercialization of medical education. These were pointed out as reasons in the Parliament and the Supreme Court.
But, the choice of NEET has failed to fulfill both these objectives. Also, the fact remains that NEET selection has curtailed medical education opportunities for well-educated students. I list evidence and figures to prove it.
Necessity – does not raise the standard of medical education.
Even though NEET was introduced in 2016 following the Supreme Court’s decision, government colleges were exempted that year. NEET selection has been fully implemented from 2017 onwards.
In 2017, 1,990 students who scored less than 150 on the NEED exam enrolled in medical school from private universities. 530 of them have scored single digit marks in Physics and Chemistry; 110 students got zero or less negative marks in one or both of these subjects. How can a person scoring less than zero in a subject act as a competent doctor?
The same is true in 2018. In one particular state alone, 50 students who scored single-digit marks and minus marks in Physics / Chemistry in the NEED examination have joined private universities. 7 of them got zero marks in any of these two subjects. 10 people took the minus score. A person who got minus 25 marks out of 180 marks in Physics subject, i.e. 25 marks less than zero and 10 marks in Chemistry, got 185 marks in Biology and joined the medical course with a total of 170 marks. If a student with a score of 110 out of 720, i.e. 15.27%, can study medicine, how will the quality of medical education improve?
Need – does not elevate merit; Reduces
Until the implementation of NEED examination in Tamil Nadu, admission of medical students was conducted on the basis of Class 12 marks. According to the prevailing practice at that time, only those who got 60% marks in Physics, Chemistry, Biology / Zoology could apply for medical studies. Even among them, only those with a qualifying score of 97% to 99% can join the undergraduate medical course.
But, not so in the NEET exam. Even those with a 15% score can enroll in medical school. It just needs billions of dollars. In fact, when the NEED exam was announced in 2010, it was announced that a minimum score of 50% was required to pass each subject.
The minimum mark requirement for the course was removed as a large number of students would not pass if such a condition was imposed and students would not be available to join the peer universities in such an environment. This ensures that the purpose of NEET selection is not to raise the quality of medical education … but to reduce it, not to prevent it from being commercialized … to promote it.
Need – Medical education does not prevent commercialization
The commercialization of medical education by NEET selection has not been prevented either. The statistics prove this too. In 2017, there were about 60,000 medical student admissions across India. In terms of eligibility, only those in the top 70,000 should have found a place in medical colleges. However, even those who are ranked below 6 lakh 23 thousand in the rankings have found a place in the peer universities.
Similarly, in 2018 there were about 65,000 seats. Of those, 7 lakh 6 thousand are the ones who have the opportunity to take the top spot. At the same time, those with more than 50,000 seats did not stand a chance.
This is because the government allows private universities to conduct student admissions at their own discretion, making room for those willing to pay fees of up to Rs 25 lakh per year and up to Rs 1 crore.
At the same time, even those with a score of more than 450 out of 720 miss out on the opportunity to enroll in medical school because they cannot afford the fees set by a private university.
Until the NEET exam comes into effect, a student will have to pay Rs. Donations of up to Rs 50 lakh, with a maximum of Rs 6 lakh per annum and Rs 30 lakh for five years, were able to study medicine at private universities at a total cost of Rs 80 lakh.
If those who are qualified to change this position are able to study medicine free of charge then it is a success of NEET exam. But if you have the strength to spend up to two and a half crore rupees, if you can study medicine even without a sufficient score, how can it prevent the commercialization of medical education?
NEED – How does it affect rural, poor students?
Educational opportunities should be equal for all. But, NEET selection did not offer such opportunities. It is impossible to get high marks in NEET exam and join medical course without getting personal training. For example, in 2019 in Tamil Nadu, the number of students who passed the NEED exam with a score of over 300 was 14,443.
Of these, 8,688 were 12th grade students who had completed the previous year. All of them have undergone two years of individual training for the NEED exam and have passed accordingly. Of the rest, 90 percent are self-employed.
More than 50% of those enrolled in medical education in Tamil Nadu in 2017, 2018 and 2019 are those who have completed the CBSE syllabus. Similarly, the number of students studying in government schools and enrolling in medical colleges is only 3 to 5.
It is noteworthy that more than 400 students were able to enroll in medical school last year only because of the 7.5% quota in medical and dental colleges for government school students.
Need – Social Injustice
To get individual training for NEET exam, one has to pay Rs. Charges up to Rs 2 lakh. Only those who have trained for at least 2 years can pass the NEED exam. It is not possible for rural students and poor students.
Similarly, most of the questions asked in the NEED exam are from the CBSE syllabus. This is also an anti-student feature in the Tamil Nadu state curriculum. In any case, the NEET exam does not provide equal opportunity to rural, poor and government school students, so prolonging the exam is a social injustice; It should be exempt.
Need – No legal recognition
It is noteworthy that no legal recognition was given to the NEET exam. It is a mistake for the federal government to claim that the NEET election was conducted because the Supreme Court ruled that it was.
Since the NEET exam was announced in 2011, it has been running since 2012. Then postponed to 2013. In the same year, the Supreme Court quashed the NEET selection.
Opposing it, the then United Progressive Alliance government filed a revision petition. The apex court hearing the petition on 11.04.2016 ruled that the judgment already given that NEET examination should be canceled was given in urgency and the case against NEET examination will be re-tried.
The verdict is just 4 pages long. Even so, owning one is still beyond the reach of the average person. Even so, owning one is still beyond the reach of the average person.
The Constitutional Legal Session, comprising Justices AK Sikri, RK Agrawal, AK Goyal and R Panumathi, chaired by Justice Anil Dwivedi, announced that when the case against NEET is re-examined, it will be discussed.
Since then, it has been more than five years until now. All 5 judges who ruled have retired. But, to date the case against NEET selection has not been taken up for hearing. In such a scenario, Bamako’s position is that it is not social justice for the federal government to pursue NEET selection solely on the basis of an interim judgment.
Need – What should the Tamil Nadu government do next?
Therefore, the Government of Tamil Nadu should take all necessary steps to exempt Tamil Nadu from the NEET test against social justice, which can have a major impact on poor, rural and state curriculum students. Need to expedite the pending case in the Supreme Court regarding NEET exam and get a verdict against NEET exam.
Many states in India, especially the southern states, are against NEET. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin should hold talks with the Chief Ministers of these states and form an alliance against NEET.
Appoint a competent senior attorney on behalf of each state and arrange for them to argue in the Supreme Court. Arrangements should be made to pass a resolution in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly with relevant statistics with a view to exempting Tamil Nadu from the NEET test and to expedite the approval of the President.
I request Judge AK Rajan’s panel to recommend to the Government all measures to exempt Tamil Nadu students from NEET examination, including these “.
Thus Anbumani said in that letter.
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