Kamal offers SEET to help TN students enter MBBS courses

Kamal offers SEET to help TN students enter MBBS courses

Nivedha.Selvam1@timesgroup.com

20.03.2021 

Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) has promised to replace the National Eligibility -cum Entrance Test (NEET) with State Eligibility cum Entrance Test (SEET) for medical admission in the state if the party is voted to power.

It is one of the biggest promises in the party’s manifesto that was released in Coimbatore on Friday. The party has promised to provide jobs for 50 lakh to one crore people and double the per capita income in 10 years.

Saying that most government school students in the state found it difficult to crack NEET, Kamal said SEET question papers will be framed based on the state board syllabus to make it easy for the students.

The MNM has envisioned a plan to revamp the state’s education system by abolishing Class X and XII public examinations and introducing a four-year-long pre-graduation programme from Class IX. The manifesto said only one examination - either public examination or entrance - will be held.

Terming the manifesto a “living document”, Kamal said it was prepared with a long-term vision and not as a poll stunt.

Kamal took a dig at major political parties, saying freebies and doles promised by them would only add more burden to a debt-ridden state. He said MNM had better ideas other than relying only on tax and getting loans to promote growth, generate revenue and bring the state out of debt.

He said the governmentrun enterprises such as Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation could be turned profitable by making employees shareholders.

Referring to the financial assistance that other parties had promised for homemakers, the actor said MNM will create an environment for them to earn by honing their skills. “With skill development, women will be able to earn better on their own.”

MNM has promised to set up ‘makkal’ canteens, which will be different from ‘Amma’ canteens and ration shops. Here, people can purchase groceries and other items at a reasonable price. It also vowed to implement former president A P J Abdul Kalam’s Provision of Urban Amenities to Rural Areas (PURA) plan to make villages self-sufficient and turn unorganized workers into organized workers. “All the schemes mentioned in our manifesto are practically possible to implement,” Kamal said.

Asked about the recent income-tax raid on the premises of the party’s treasurer A Chandrasekaran, Kamal said it was a raid on an individual and had nothing to do with the MNM. “Action will be taken against him if he is proven guilty.”