‘No govt student got med seat in 2019 due to NEET’

‘No govt student got med seat in 2019 due to NEET’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:11.07.2021 

The introduction of NEET for admissions to undergraduate medical courses caused a steep fall in the number of government school students securing MBBS admission, the CPM has told the Madras high court.

After NEET was implemented, the number of government school students securing government seats in medical colleges dropped to a paltry five in 2017, seven in 2018 and zero in 2019, the party said, seeking to implead itself as a party to the PIL filed by a BJP functionary.

The PIL opposes the formation of the Justice A K Rajan committee to study the impact of NEET on students in the state. DMK, Dravidar Kazhagam and others too have sought to implead themselves in the PIL, which has been posted to July 13 for further hearing. The Union government, however, filed a counter-affidavit saying constitution of the committee is an affront to the Supreme Court and that it was an exercise in futility.

“Before introduction of NEET, 90% of students getting admission to government medical colleges in the state were from government and government aided schools or low-cost private schools teaching the state board syllabus,” CPM said.

The sudden drop in the numbers post NEET is a cause for worry and the state government is duty-bound to study the root cause of the problem, it said.