The resolution seeking exemption for Tamil Nadu from the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) has been declined by the President, Chief Minister MK Stalin told the Assembly on Friday.
Nevertheless, the state would continue its struggle to abolish the NEET, he said and announced that an all-political party meeting has been convened on April 9, in this regard, according to a PTI report.
CM MK Stalin informed the House on the latest development by terming the rejection as a “dark chapter in federalism”, and accused the Centre of disregarding the will of Tamil Nadu people and the Assembly bill, too.
“Despite the Tamil Nadu government furnishing all necessary clarifications through various ministries, the Union government has now rejected the exemption from NEET,” Stalin said.
What was the resolution
The Tamil Nadu Assembly had unanimously passed a resolution opposing the NEET in August last year. The resolution urged the central government to repeal NEET and restore the previous practice of medical admissions based on class 12 marks, followed before the implementation of NEET.
Several regional parties, including the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Manithaneya Makkal Katchi, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, had supported the resolution.
DMK MP K Kanimozhi had reiterated the call to “exempt” Tamil Nadu from NEET, the medical admission exam conducted nationwide by the National Testing Agency (NTA).
Why is Tamil Nadu opposing NEET
Tamil Nadu has opposed the NEET since it was made compulsory in 2017. The test was alleged to be inimical to the interests of its state board students since it was conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) between 2013 and 2018. The NTA then took over in 2019.
In 2021, the state’s government appointed a committee under the chairmanship of a retired high court judge, Justice AK Rajan, to study the impact of NEET on medical admissions in Tamil Nadu.
The 165-page report invoked “social justice” and “protection of vulnerable student communities from discrimination” in medical college admissions and cited “social accountability and professional ethics” as part of the Hippocratic Oath of physicians. It linked medical education to social accountability and called for more diversity in the medical student base.
Student suicides linked to NEET
A 21-year-old student preparing for the NEET allegedly died by suicide on March 28, near Chennai in Tamil Nadu, due to fear of underperforming in the medical entrance exam, police said on Saturday.
The NEET aspirant, Devadharshini, was reportedly under extreme stress as she had failed the entrance exam three times earlier. The exam is scheduled for May 4.
According to the AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, as many as 19 students have allegedly died by suicide between September 2021 and March 2025 due to fears over clearing NEET.