Page 24 - EW May 2025

Education News

nus of Annamalai University, Guindy Engineering College, THEY SAID IT
and the National University of Singapore: “NEET has its
advantages and disadvantages. It is a common national “Has the pervasive control of universities
entrance test that eliminates school-leavers writing mul- helped the cause of higher education?
tiple entrance exams. Also, before NEET, there wasn’t No Indian university ranks in the top 100
normalisation of class XII marks in Tamil Nadu. That put
students from outside the state at a disadvantage. Against universities of the world (prepared by QS).
this the centralised nature of NEET can cause delays, and The highest ranked Indian university is IIT,
a glitch in one part of the system affects all.” Bombay that took the 118th rank. In a reply
Moreover, lax assessment was a fatal flaw of the ear- in Parliament, the government disclosed that
lier system where medical college admissions were based as on October 21, 2024, the number of vacant
on class XII exam board scores. “The board exams-based teaching posts in central universities alone
model was flawed. Thousands of students scored full was 5,182.”
marks making it impossible to differentiate the truly meri- P. Chidambaram, Congress MP, in an essay titled
torious from rote learners. Plus, students from schools af- ‘University education in peril’ (Indian Express, April 20)
filiated with boards other than the Tamil Nadu state board
couldn’t compete. This resulted in widespread corruption,
with medical college seats being sold at exorbitant prices. “Mandatory front-of-pack labelling to
NEET has helped reduce such malpractices and brought inform consumers of high sugar, salt and fat
in fair nationwide competition,” he adds. content is an evidence-based intervention.
Dr. S. Somasundaram, a Chennai-based education- Banning aggressive marketing — especially
ist, argues for reform over resistance. “Rather than seek- to children — is critical to reduce the
ing exemption, the appeal of UPFs (ultra processed foods).
state should equip These regulations should be monitored
students to fare well independently... The battle against obesity
in NEET. The state
government should will not be won in drug companies’
provide TN and ru- boardrooms. It will be won in our kitchens,
ral students scholar- schools, workplaces and public policies.
ships, free-of-charge Dr Arun Gupta, former member, PM’s council on India’s
study material, and nutrition (Economic Times, April 18)
upgrade government
schools. A uniform “India will identify, track and punish every
exam like NEET
brings transparency. terrorist and their backers. We will pursue
Tamil Nadu needs to Dr. S. Somasundaram them to the ends of the Earth. India’s spirit
expand its medical will never be broken by terrorism. Terrorism
infrastructure, pro- will not go unpunished. Every effort will
mote more medical colleges which would translate into be made to ensure that justice is done. The
more seats, which will democratise access to medical edu- entire nation is firm in this resolve. Everyone
cation. Tamil Nadu’s 38 government medical colleges and who believes in humanity is with us.”
39 private institutions, including deemed universities, are Prime minister Narendra Modi promising justice after
too few in number for a state with a population of 72 mil- the Pahalgam terror attack (April 24)
lion,” says Somasundaram.
Nevertheless within the ruling DMK and opposition
parties there’s near consensus that the NEET admissions “It is not the duty of the court to tell the
model is fundamentally incompatible with Tamil Nadu’s media: delete this, take that down... Both the
commitment to placing the interests of the state’s back- judiciary and the media are the foundational
ward classes and historically discriminated scheduled pillars of democracy which is a basic feature
castes and tribes above all other considerations. On April of our Constitution. For a liberal democracy
9, the DMK convened an all-party meeting in Chennai, to thrive, both must supplement each other.”
where leaders unanimously resolved to seek judicial in- Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, Supreme Court judge, delivering a
tervention and continue pressing for exemption of TN jugdement in a defamation case betwen Asian News
students from having to write NEET. International and Wikimedia Foundation (May 9)
Shivani Chaturvedi (Chennai)

24 EDUCATIONWORLD MAY 2025