Where NEET’17 result brought relief to many, it brought trouble in Tamil Nadu. Although, many students from the state qualified in the examination, none made it to the skimmed batch. This major fallout of poor scores in Tamil Nadu has caused worry all over given the fear that they might not be able to compete with students from other states under the All India Quota.
The All India Quota is formed by taking 15% seats in all colleges all over nation. The state of Tamil Nadu is having one of the highest number of state-run medical institutions, but having not gained much ranks in the recently announced NEET result, the officials of the state government are worried.
Previously, it was the students of Tamil Nadu and Gujarat who raised plea in separate high courts saying that the Exam in Tamil and Gujarat was much more difficult than in English or Hindi. Due to vernacular difficulty, the candidates of the states demanded that NEET’17 should either be taken again or be cancelled for the year.
Listening to the plea, Madras High court put a stay on the announcement of the result. Further on, when CBSE took the case to the Supreme Court, the stay was lifted and the CBSE was ordered to announce the result by June 26, initially scheduled at June 9.
With the desperation to safeguard the interest of the students of the state, the senior officials have been brain-storming ever since the announcement of result about how to recover the situation best.
One of the main ideas is the creation of a quota for students of the State board. The Central government is yet to give its nod for the bills passed by the State government to exempt Tamil Nadu from NEET.
“If Presidential assent is not given, then we will allocate proportionate seats for State board students in the admissions,” said a senior official in the State government.
According to the Medical Council of India (MCI), counselling for MBBS/BDS admissions should be completed by July and classes should begin in the first week of August. “But this year because of all the issues, time may be extended till August-end for admissions,” said an MCI member.
Speaking to Express, Director of Medical Education A Edwin Joe said the government is in the process of finalizing the prospectus. “We are seeking legal advice on the prospectus. Once done, the dates for issuing application forms for MBBS/BDS courses will be announced. The counselling dates will be announced simultaneously,” he said. “We are also hoping for the Presidential assent for two NEET bills,” Joe added.
Counselling for the All India Quota will be conducted on July 13.