Tamil Nadu Assembly adopts resolution seeking abolition of NEET for undergraduate medical courses

The Tamil Nadu Assembly on Tuesday (August 11, 2026) unanimously adopted a resolution urging the Union government to do away with the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to undergraduate medical courses, citing repeated irregularities in the conduct of the examination, proliferation of coaching centres, and loss of lives. The lone BJP MLA M. Bhojarajan opposed the resolution and staged a walkout before the voting.

Tamil Nadu Assembly had adopted resolutions seeking exemption from NEET in the past too. Earlier, in 2021, when the DMK was in power, the Assembly passed the Tamil Nadu Admission to Undergraduate Medical Degree Courses Bill (L.A. Bill No. 43 of 2021), seeking to exempt the State from NEET. However, the Bill was reserved for the consideration of the President, and presidential assent has been withheld.

Moving the resolution, Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare Minister K.G. Arunraj urged the Union government to make necessary amendments to the National Medical Commission Act, 2019 (Central Act No. 33 of 2019), the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Act, 2020 (Central Act No. 14 of 2020), the National Commission for Homoeopathy Act, 2020 (Central Act No. 15 of 2020), and other relevant Central enactments.

“This will enable admission to medical courses in the State on the basis of marks obtained in the Class XII examination,” the resolution said.

The resolution said the Tamil Nadu government had consistently maintained that NEET was against social justice and equality and infringed upon the rights of the States in matters relating to medical education. It said the examination had seriously undermined the opportunities available to rural and socio-economically disadvantaged students, including those whose medium of instruction was Tamil.

NEET had also led to the proliferation of coaching centres charging exorbitant fees and diverted students’ attention from the school curriculum towards NEET-oriented coaching, it said.

“A single day’s test, rather than twelve years of school education, now determines the course of a student’s higher education,” the resolution said.

It further pointed to repeated question-paper leakages and other irregularities in the conduct of NEET, culminating in the cancellation of NEET-UG 2026 and the subsequent re-examination. These developments had caused “untold mental agony” to lakhs of students and had even resulted in the tragic loss of young lives, it said.

“The examination has forfeited the trust of the students of this country. NEET should, therefore, be abolished,” the resolution said.

Demand to move education to State List

Mr. Arunraj said the permanent solution to the NEET issue was to shift education from the Concurrent List to the State List.

“I take pride and am happy to introduce this Bill as a doctor who secured admission to medical college through the direct admission system and subsequently served as a doctor in a Primary Health Centre (PHC) for five-and-a-half years,” he said.

Mr. Bhojarajan said NEET would encourage students and create a future. In Palladam, 10 Tamil-medium students cleared NEET. “Why can’t the government run coaching centres? Tamil Nadu students are intelligent. They should be given quality education and coaching,” he said.