The NEET conundrum

Sudheer Goutham

The uppermost question on everyone’s mind is would the President give his assent to the TN bill? Opinions are divided as one group wants to do away with National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) with the Tamil Nadu government leading the call and coaching centres and others swearing to maintain status quo. The issue has taken a national interest angle with some arguing NEET is against constitutional rights and favours one section of the population (read convent educated, CBSE background students).

Officials of the Tamil Nadu government have been vehemently opposing NEET on the grounds that it is against the federal structure and that education is in the concurrent list. It may be noted that Justice Rajan Committee has recommended abolishing NEET. It is also argued that the Central government cannot take unilateral decisions but consult the state governments.

The supporters for the removal of NEET state that it is favourable to students from affluent and English medium background. Mohanan Nair, a Physics teacher of Raj High School, Raipur says, “In Germany and France students get medical degrees by studying in their mother tongue and the National Education Policy 2020 too lays emphasis on vernacular medium of instruction. NEET is not favourable to students from small towns and those from poor families.”

Another argument against the exam is the rigour that one has to go through to crack it. Apart from spending huge amount to coaching centres, the preparation for the exam sometimes that begins in school itself takes a heavy toll on students. Students have to go through years of grind to answer the close to 200 questions, 180 to be precise in 180 minutes. Sreedhar Reddy, a Zoology lecturer of Mahati Junior College, Hyderabad is not supportive of doing away with NEET. He argues, “To get into a professional course one needs to give his/her best. There are no two ways about it. If we want to get quality professionals, one has to go through the grind. Indian doctors and engineers are known throughout the world and it is due to the system that is in place.”

In his report, Justice Rajan stated that colleges and research institutes like AIIMS, PGI and JIPMER have their own admission tests. A medical seat in India is out of the reach of a common man with fee touching the Rs 1 crore mark. Several private medical colleges admit students with low marks by charging high fee.

The argument is now between meritocracy and providing an equal platform for all sections of the society.