Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said on Sunday that the DMK was opposing NEET not just for the sake of politics but because it was a new version of the conspiracy to deny education to people based on their social status.
“Education has been denied to people for centuries. They have had access to education in the last few decades as a result of many struggles. Education offers them a qualification and status. NEET is a new version of the conspiracy to deny education to people because of their status,” he said, launching a virtual campaign for the urban local bodies elections.
“We are under no compulsion to politicise NEET. The BJP government at the Centre is pursuing a lot of anti-people policies and they need to be opposed. It is not just NEET. We will oppose all the policies and schemes that are against Tamil Nadu and its people,” he said.
Mr. Stalin said the BJP had imposed NEET on the nation in 2016, and Tamil Nadu was exempted from it for a year because former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had opposed it. “Had the opposition continued, NEET would have come to an end. But the AIADMK government just nodded its head and paved the way for all the problems we have today. It could have adopted another resolution in the Assembly after the Union government returned the Bill against NEET. We have the courage to readopt the resolution, and we will send it back to the Governor. We will not go back on our resolve,” he stressed.
The Chief Minister said gaining admission to a medical college would not automatically make a student doctor, rationalising the objection to the entrance test. “He has to pass the qualifying examinations to become a doctor. Many Tamils have become internationally renowned doctors only after passing these examinations. NEET has made medical education possible only for those who have the wherewithal to attend coaching classes. If one cannot clear it in one year, he has to spend money again the next year,” he said.
Mr. Stalin said it was the duty of an elected government to fulfil all its promises in its five-year tenure. “But we have fulfilled 75% of the promises even before completing one year. We have to win in the local bodies elections to ensure that the welfare schemes reach every village, town and street,” he said.
