Analysis | Tamil Nadu govt’s NEET challenge evades the bigger issue of poor academic standards

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) is again at the political centre stage in Tamil Nadu. The MK Stalin-led DMK government has just tabled a bill in the State Assembly seeking exemption for Tamil Nadu from NEET.

The State has long seen the two warring Dravidian parties indulging in the game of one-upmanship. Having raised the pitch against NEET during the elections to the State Assembly, Stalin has to show action now. In fact, the DMK leader went hammer and tongs against the erstwhile AIADMK government of Eddappaddi Palanisamy, accusing it of succumbing to the BJP government at the Centre on the issue of NEET. Stalin had even made it clear during his election campaign that NEET would be scrapped if the DMK returned to power in Tamil Nadu. Having taken an extreme stand on this issue, it is inevitable for the Stalin government to justify his poll tirade. Against this backdrop, the bill has come as no surprise as it is perceived to be inevitable. The State Assembly will be witnessing a replay of anti-NEET sentiment once again. The previous AIADMK regime, too, had passed a bill against NEET. It is a different matter, however, that the President did not give his consent to it. Now, it is the turn of the Stalin government to re-enact it. With this, the political temperature in the State has risen. The death of a student in the State just before his appearance for the NEET examination is bound to add a fresh dimension to the anti-NEET protests. Significantly, the bill in the state against NEET comes a day after this unfortunate episode.

Political slugfest

While the political slugfest is on, it is pertinent to remember that the country’s apex court is currently seized of the NEET issue. In fact, the recent examination for NEET was held under the Supreme Court order after it threw out objections.

The NEET saga dates back to the UPA regime. There were objections even then. And, the apex court upheld the challenge.  The Indian Medical Council (IMC) Act at that point did not provide for IMC holding a common entrance examination.  An amendment was introduced sometime in 2016. Accordingly, it provided for, inter alia,

• Introduction of a uniform entrance examination for all medical educational institutions. This would be applicable at the under- and postgraduate levels.

• In case a state has not opted for the uniform entrance examination, it said the examination would not be applicable at the under-graduate level for the academic year 2016-17.  This provision would apply to state government seats in government and private medical colleges.

• It said the entrance examinations would be conducted in Hindi, English and other languages.

• It also provided powers to the MCI to frame regulations with regard to: (i) the authority designated with the conduct of the exams, (ii) the manner of conducting the exams, and (iii) specifying languages other than English and Hindi in which the examinations may be conducted.

Following that change in the Act, the apex court accepted the common examination. And, a review is pending before it.

In October 2020, the erstwhile AIADMK regime did pass an order to provide 7.5 percent reservation in medical colleges to students from government schools, who have cleared the NEET. That provided horizontal reservation in under-graduate courses in medicine, dentistry, Indian medicine and homeopathy for government school students who have cleared NEET. That reservation would not apply to seats reserved for the all-India quota. Palaniswami had then said that more than 300 medical seats would go to students hailing from poor economic backgrounds because of the sub-quota.

Deplorable academic standards

Those who studied from the sixth standard to higher secondary schools in corporation schools, municipal schools, Adi Dravidar and tribal welfare schools, Kalla reclamation schools, forest department schools and other schools managed by the state government departments would benefit from this reservation, the CM added. The reservation had since gotten the governor's approval as well.

"Of the 7,968 higher secondary schools in the state, 3,054 schools (38.32 percent) have been run by the government. Of the 8.41 lakh students in higher secondary courses, 3.44 lakh students (41 percent) were in government-run schools. Of the 5,550 medical seats in Tamil Nadu, 4,043 are of state quota. Of this, only 0.15 percent of seats have been given to students hailing from poor economic backgrounds who study in government schools," he was quoted as saying then.

Soon after the DMK came to power at Fort St. George, Chief Minister Stalin set up a high-level committee to study the impact of NEET on Tamil Nadu. The committee, headed by Justice (retired) AK Rajan, submitted its 165-page report to the chief minister sometime in mid-July. According to Justice Rajan, the full report was prepared after considering about 86,000 representations from various stakeholders. Most representatives, according to him, had said they didn’t want NEET.

Meanwhile, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced that NEET would take place on September 12. While asserting that Tamil Nadu was firm on seeking NEET exemption, the state's Health Minister Ma Subramanian, however, had asked students to be prepared in case the exam was held. Subramanian had said the state would continue NEET coaching as it did not want to leave students stranded. This elicited a sharp reaction from the Opposition parties in Tamil Nadu which reminded the DMK of its full promise to scrap the NEET examination.

It is against these backdrops that the Stalin government has introduced a bill in the State Assembly seeking NEET exemption for Tamil Nadu.

Competitive politics

While the NEET issue will keep the political temperature hot in Tamil Nadu, a much larger question is apparently ignored by the political class as a whole. How many students from rural areas had made it to medical education courses up until 2016 when the NEET was introduced? Interactions with a cross-section of educationists did not fetch any reassuring numbers. The total could be less than 500 between 2006 and 2016, according to one estimate.  That spoke poorly of not just the number but also of the education system at the primary and secondary school level in the State. What has been done by these Dravadian rulers (who alternated the government in Tamil Nadu) to raise the standard of schools? It is alright to talk about the social inequality in the system. But incessant talking alone will not fetch a solution. Enquiries reveal that the infrastructure at the government schools – even after seven decades of Independence – is poor, to say the least. There seems to be inadequate focus on upgrading the standard of teaching staff in these schools. Ipso facto, how could one expect students from these government schools to measure up to a reasonable level? The practices – in terms of hand-holding students, teaching methodologies, evaluation et al – are less than fair in these schools. Far too long, they have been resigned to accept a sub-par education. The coaching classes for aspiring medical students and CAs are now slowly organised by the State for them now. A top educationist, who declined to be quoted, said the introduction of NEET had indeed a positive fall-out on coaching for these students in government schools. Medical colleges of private kind are dime a dozen in the state. Yet, the accessibility issue remains. Professional courses – especially medicine and the like – proved unaffordable even for relatively better-off students (economically speaking). When this was the case, what to say of poor students from government schools? The commercialisation of professional education has caused immense damage to the system. Not only was the output poor, it turned out to be costly. With the NEET, the cost of studying medicine has drastically come down. Also, the cost calculations of the private institutes have gone awry.

Far from demanding upgradation of standards in government schools – in terms of infrastructure, teaching staff and the like – the focus appears to be on compromising the standards at the higher education level. A minimum standard is essential. Achieving social equality does not mean that one can give a goby to this minimum standard. Post-liberalisation and in the wake of entry of multi-nationals such as Nokia, Ford, Hyundai, Saint Gobain and the like into Tamil Nadu, the landscape and the people therein have undergone a major metamorphosis. The dress culture, behavioural pattern, and aspiration level have all changed with the demonstration effect having a rub-off impact on everybody. The State will do well to capitalise on this and invest time, money and energy into bringing about a holistic transformation in the primary and secondary education level. Competitive politics may win votes but it is injurious to society. A rational outlook and not an irrational approach is the need of the hour.