This Article is From Aug 22, 2017

Tamil Nadu NEET Ordinance: Follow NEET, Says Supreme Court; 10 Points

Delivering a setback to Tamil Nadu, even after its NEET Ordinance, Supreme Court asked the southern state to follow the common entrance scores for medical admission.

Tamil Nadu NEET Ordinance: Follow NEET, Says Supreme Court; 10 Points

Follow NEET, Supreme Court Tells Tamil Nadu: 10 Points On NEET Ordinance

New Delhi: Students in Tamil Nadu will have to follow the route of NEET based counselling for the admission to medical courses in the state. Delivering a setback for Tamil Nadu government, the Supreme Court said that all admissions for aspiring doctors have to be based on the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), the all India medical entrance examination for admission to medical and dental courses. The law ministry on August 16 cleared the ordinance of the Tamil Nadu government which sought exemption for medical students from appearing in the common entrance test NEET. Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad cleared the draft ordinance in consultation with Attorney General K K Venugopal.

1. The centre, today said it could not support the ordinance, reportedly because it would encourage other states to ignore the call for a common entrance exam. Attorney General K.K. Venugopal told an apex court bench that the Tamil Nadu government's ordinance exempting the state students from NEET system has not got clearance. Following the AG's remarks, the Court directed that medical counselling should be completed by September 4.

2. The Supreme Court on last Thursday said that there could be no "compromise on intellect" as it ordered status quo on admissions to undergraduate medical courses in Tamil Nadu. "You can't compromise on intellect," said the bench of Justice Dipak Misra, Justice Amitava Roy and Justice A.M.Khanwilkar also saying "no" to state government's plea that it wanted to accommodate students from "rural background" who were not that good.

3. The students, through senior counsel Nalini Chidambaram, had submitted in the apex court that the recent ordinance of the State to exempt Tamil Nadu from NEET this year was merely a political bargaining chip which would affect the lives and careers of students.

4. Initially, the Union Home and Law Ministries had reportedly cleared the ordinance. But when the Health Ministry sought the Attorney General's view with some fresh facts, the top law officer is believed to have told the government that it will not stand scrutiny in the Supreme Court.

5. 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.

6. The Madras high court on July 14 quashed a Tamil Nadu government order reserving 85% of the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) and Bachelor of Dental Surger (BDS) seats to state board students and only 15% for CBSE and other boards, holding that it amounted to discrimination among equals.

7. On June this year, a state government order reserves 85 per cent of MBBS and BDS seats to state board students and only 15 per cent for CBSE and other boards

8. Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) conducted the NEET examination on May 7.

9. On January this year, Tamil Nadu became the first State to introduce Bills in the Legislative Assembly to exempt aspirants from appearing for the NEET for admission to medical and dental colleges.

10. In 2016, 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.

(With Inputs from PTI and IANS)

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