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Would have never cleared NEET exemption bill, test is here to stay, says Tamil Nadu Governor

Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi on August 12 said that he would never clear the State’s Bill to exempt it from the National Eligibility-cum Entrance Test (NEET) if it were up to him and asserted that the exam was “going to stay in the country”.

He was speaking at a felicitation of students from Tamil Nadu who secured high marks in this year’s NEET. A student’s father asked the Governor when he would give clearance to ban NEET and Ravi replied, “I am telling you very frankly. I will never give clearance to NEET [exemption Bill]”.

He, however, added that the Bill had gone to the President since it was a subject on the Concurrent List of the Constitution. “It is a subject on which only the President is competent to give the clearance. Given to me, I shall never give it. Be sure about it,” he said.

In his reply, Ravi said that the children in Tamil Nadu were victims of wrong propaganda by vested interests. He alleged that medical admissions were a ₹1,000 crore business prior to the introduction of NEET because of private colleges run by people with money and influence.

He also alleged that it was this lobby of private colleges that made “all the noise, all the havoc” regarding students ending their lives.

Ravi said a myth was created that coaching was a must to crack NEET. Claiming that many students were clearing without coaching, he stressed the need for teachers to be “fair” and teach properly in schools.

Moreover, he said an impression had been created that the State was doing well before NEET. On the contrary, the number of government school students getting medical admission was low prior to NEET and fell even further soon after NEET came into force, he said. However, due to the 7.5% horizontal reservation introduced by the AIADMK government, more than 600 government school students were now getting admissions in a year, he said.

Ravi also said NEET had reduced corruption and made it possible for poor students to get admissions. He said he did not want Tamil Nadu’s children to be “intellectually disabled”.