Majority of stakeholders don't want NEET: TN panel

A high-level committee led by retired Madras high court judge A K Rajan on Wednesday handed over its report to Chief Minister M K Stalin on the impact of National Eligibility cum Entrance Test in Tamil Nadu and related issues due to its implementation.

The full report, which runs into 165 pages, has been presented to Chief Minister Stalin and his attention was also drawn to its key aspects, Justice Rajan said, adding the recommendations made to the government cannot be disclosed.

The report was prepared after looking into about 86,000 representations from stakeholders, a majority of whom said they "don't want NEET," he told reporters at the Secretariat after giving the report to Stalin.

The impact of the national test among aspirants, people and several sections of society has been dealt with and the report is completely based on data and not on personal opinions, he said answering a question.

Asked if there are other major 'problems', vis-a-vis NEET, besides the adverse impact for rural and government school students, he said there are several problems, including psychological, economical and even legal and all such aspects have been covered in the report.

The work of the panel is over and "definitely we are satisfied about the work," he said.

Last month, announcing the Justice Rajan panel, the chief minister had said the committee would analyse if the national test had an adverse impact on students from backward classes. If it was so, the panel would recommend remedial measures to the government suggesting an alternative admission procedure that would benefit all.

The panel was tasked to study data related to medical admissions in Tamil Nadu and make necessary recommendations to safeguard the interests of students from the backward sections.

"The government will initiate the next course of action after considering the recommendations," the state government had said.

Stalin had said that Tamil Nadu always had the historic duty of upholding social justice and to fulfill that duty continuously, the government is determined to take all steps to address the consequences due to the NEET.

A petition in the Madras High Court, seeking to quash the Tamil Nadu government notification, constituting the high- level committee on NEET, has been dismissed by the court.

Most parties, including the ruling DMK and main opposition AIADMK, are on the same page on NEET and have been demanding that the test be scrapped, arguing that it went against social justice, rural and government school students.

Besides Justice Rajan, who led the panel, there were eight other members, including Dr G R Ravindranath (Doctors Association for Social Equality), Jawahar Nesan (educationist) and six top government officials like the Principal Secretary of Medical and Family Welfare Department.

The previous AIADMK government had in October last year introduced 7.5 per cent reservation to government school students who clear NEET in medical admissions.