NEET will 'destroy' careers, bring Act to bypass SC: DMK MP

New Delhi, May 11: Insisting that NEET would "destroy" career of students of state boards, a DMK member today demanded in the Rajya Sabha an Act to "set aside" the Supreme Court order on the common entrance examination for admission to medical and dental colleges in the country.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour, K P Ramalingam (DMK) said it is a very important issue which will "destroy" career of students studying in regional languages and state boards across the country. "Every state government has a right to fix syllabus.

But the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET), as a single entrance exam for medical and dental courses in the country, would affect the life of students who are studying in state board syllabus," he said.

He said since the syllabus of NEET is based on CBEC, "it is totally unconstitutional and attempt to surpass" students, majority of whom are from rural areas and different educational background. Ramalingam said in 2007, the Tamil Nadu government had abolished entrance examination for medical courses through an Act. Like Tamil Nadu, some other states too allow admission based on Class 12 marks, he added.

These states believe that there is a "huge difference" in terms of content in their syllabus and that of the central board. It is "impossible" for the students to prepare separately to clear NEET, the DMK member said.

Criticising an argument of the Medical Council of India, he said while education is different in states, "uniformity in entrance exam is totally a matter of contradiction".

"Before implementing uniform NEET based on CBEC or any other syllabus, government should come for a new Act to ban the Supreme Court order or to set aside the Supreme Court order," Ramalingam said. He got support from several members in the House.

The DMK MP also warned that there could be student agitation in the country if NEET is followed. In his Zero Hour mention, K Rehman Khan (Cong) raised the issue of National Wakf Development Board and wanted to know why the body has "remained defunct".

Sharad Yadav (JD-U) expressed concern over the state of government hospitals and demanded expediting of the proposal to set up more AIIMS like hospitals in different parts of the country.

Swait Malik (BJP) raised the issue of a long-pending railway project in Punjab, while Narendra Budania (Cong) talked about stopping of construction work on the Kumbha Ram Arya lift canal in Rajasthan.

PTI