Chennai: With President Pranab Mukherjee signing the ordinance cleared by the Union Cabinet to postpone Neet on Tuesday, decks have been cleared for the Tamil Nadu government to start admitting students to medical courses in government colleges without any entrance examination.
Simply put, students who have completed higher secondary can get admission into medical colleges based on their marks. Tamil Nadu was one of the states that contested the Supreme Court order that made Neet mandatory for medical admission.
Despite awaiting the gazette notification, the health department confirmed that as far as the current year is concerned, the state would ensure that steps are taken to admit students based on their plus-2 marks alone. “Application forms will be made available soon and counselling will begin before June end”, said a health official.
“We can decide on the next year only after a response is received to the letters the Chief Minister has written to the Prime Minister,” he added. According to the ordinance, students of state boards will not have to sit for Neet on July 24. However, they will have to be part of the uniform entrance exam from the next academic session.
“It is necessary for a uniform syllabus. However, it should start at the school level instead of in college,” said a member of the MBBS admission selection committee.
