From Tamil Nadu to West Bengal, why do Indian states want to scrap NEET altogether? – Times of India

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) UG 2024 is a vital examination for medical aspirants in India. However, this year, the NEET examination was surrounded by controversies, including allegations of question paper leaks, the awarding of “grace marks,” and other systemic issues, which led to a series of legal battles that lasted for around two months.On July 23, the Supreme Court gave its verdict on the NEET case, dismissing petitions calling for the cancellation and re-conduct of the NEET-UG 2024 exam. The Apex Court ruled that there was no systemic breach in the NEET UG 2024 examination. While acknowledging the leak of the question paper in Hazaribagh and Patna, the court determined that the results were not vitiated.
While the Union Education Minister hailed the Supreme Court’s decision, several states expressed dissatisfaction with the examination. On Wednesday, a day after the Supreme Court pronounced its judgement on the NEET UG row, the West Bengal Assembly passed a resolution to scrap NEET and introduce a new state-based entrance test for medical aspirants. This decision follows a similar move by the Karnataka Cabinet, which recently approved a resolution to oppose NEET. Additionally, the Tamil Nadu Assembly also passed a resolution last month urging the Union Government to exempt the state from NEET.
Notably, the Bahujan Samaj Party Chief Mayawati has also demanded the scrapping of NEET and the reinstatement of the “old system” of medical admissions. She took to X (formerly Twitter) today and posted a series of tweets.
“Naturally, the issue of irregularities in the Al lIndia NEET UG medical examination has been a hot topic from the streets to the Parliament and the Supreme Court. Now, whatever the result, the pain and mental agony suffered by lakhs of candidates and their families due to this will haunt them. “
She further added, “The Centre has failed to assure the country about conducting such an important medical exam properly, which is making the problem more serious. Therefore, why not end the centralised medical NEET UG-PG exam and reinstate the old system for it, as is the demand of many state governments.

NEET UG: Where did the idea of abolishing it originate from?

In 2021, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) came to power in Tamil Nadu and formed a panel to study the impact of the NEET-based admission process. This panel was headed by Retired Madras High Court Justice A K Rajan. The committee’s report, based on extensive data analysis and feedback from students, parents, and the public, was shared with various state governments to highlight NEET’s alleged anti-poor and anti-social justice nature. On June 10, 2024, Justice Rajan recommended that the Tamil Nadu government take immediate steps to eliminate NEET through legal and/or legislative procedures. The panel also suggested that higher secondary examination marks should be the sole criterion for admission to first-year medical programs.
The committee stated, “The state government may undertake immediate steps to eliminate NEET as a qualifying criterion for admission to medical programs by following the required legal and/or legislative procedures.”
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The why of it: Strings of suicides among medical aspirants who are studying and preparing for NEET have been witnessed in recent times. In this context, the DMK advocated for the abolition of the NEET exam, stating that it is the only solution to prevent student suicides. In May 2024, the party mentioned that around 26 people lost their lives due to NEET in Tamil Nadu. Further, the party claimed that as many as 119 students pursuing coaching to clear NEET have died by suicide over the past eight years.
Additionally, the party linked these student suicides to specific cases of cheating and irregularities associated with NEET in states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra. The DMK also questioned whether this was not a betrayal of about 24 lakh students.

Doing away with NEET UG: West Bengal’s Move

On Wednesday, July 24, the West Bengal Assembly passed a resolution to scrap the NEET examination, citing distrust of the National Testing Agency (NTA). The state plans to conduct its own entrance test for medical students. The resolution was tabled by State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sovandeb Chattopadhya, who condemned the NTA, alleging it was unable to conduct a fair and transparent entrance test for students, suggests a PTI report.
The why of it: As per reports, the resolution that has been passed by the assembly criticizes the NTA for its perceived failure to conduct a fair and impartial examination and calls on the state government to organize joint entrance examination within the state for the greater public good. Therefore, West Bengal is opposing NEET as it feels that NTA has failed to conduct a fair and impartial examination.
State Education Minister Bratya Basu, speaking in favor of the resolution, said, “I have heard from the media that question papers were leaked for Rs 30 to 40 lakh. The future of 24 lakh children in the country is being ruined. Leave this test to us. We can conduct it in a transparent manner,” reports PTI.

Scrapping NEET: The Karnataka Verdict

Similarly, on Monday, the Karnataka Cabinet approved a resolution to scrap the NEET examination in the state, replacing it with a new entrance test for UG and PG students. This decision comes amid growing concerns surrounding the NEET examination. Last week, Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar urged the Centre to scrap NEET and allow states to conduct their own entrance tests.
“The irregularities in the NEET exam are serious. It is a question of the future of lakhs of students. The Centre must scrap NEET and allow states to conduct their own entrance tests. Students from across the country can participate in the tests conducted by states,” Shivakumar said, reports PTI.
The why of it: According to reports, the authorities are proposing to scrap the NEET examination in the state as it is depriving the state-board students as they have to fight against this in their own home state. Further, the authorities also raised concerns about the NEET exam sanctity which has been affected. “Injustice is being meted out to the students from Karnataka. Karnataka has built strong colleges, but it is benefiting students from North India rather than its own students. We have to fight unitedly against this. The Centre must conduct an inquiry into the NEET exam irregularities,” added Shivakumar.

Will More States Pitch In?

This is a very pertinent question in the wake of the recent doldrums around NEET UG: Will more states follow the steps of Karnataka, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu? So far, only these three states have taken action against NEET. Other states have not yet commented on the issue. However, if irregularities in the NEET examination continue, we may see more states join the movement.

State-based engineering entrance tests: Can this model be followed for medical aspirants too?

In the case of engineering, several states already have their own entrance examinations. Apart from the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) conducted nationally, there are several state-level entrance exams. Here are some important engineering entrance exams conducted at both state and national levels:

These examples show that it is possible for states to conduct medical entrance exams at both state and national levels. However, it is too early to comment definitively on this possibility.
(With inputs from agencies)