President's assent for TN bill abolishing CET

Chennai, Mar 5 (UNI) The President today gave the much-awaited assent to the Tamil Nadu bill seeking to abolish the Common Entrance Test (CET) for admission to professional courses in the state.

Giving this information to media here, state Higher Education Secretary K Ganesan said the bill would become an Act after it was published in the gazette.

The DMK government, following pressure from various political parties and its allies, especially the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), had passed the bill during the Assembly session in January this year.

Two students and a retired Head Master challenged the Bill in Madras High Court. When the petitions came up for hearing, the first bench said they were premature as the President was yet to assent.

The case was adjourned after the state government informed the court that the bill was likely to get assent within a couple of months.

The President's assent has come at a time when Plus Two students were taking their board examinations. This should give a sigh of relief to both students and parents.

The previous AIADMK government had twice made abortive attempts to scrap CET. On both occasions, Madras High Court struck down the notification, paving the way for CET.

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the Medical Council of India (MCI) were also against scrapping CET.

UNI