PMK For 2.5% Quota For Govt-Aided Schools In Medical Admission
In 13 districts of Tamil Nadu, government-aided schools accounted for more than 20% of total student enrolment and in five of these districts, more students studied in government-aided schools than in government schools.
Chennai:PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss sought a 2.5 per cent reservation for students of government aided schools like the 7.5 percent now given to government school students, saying that children from poor and disadvantaged homes opted for the aided schools where there were no government schools.
In a press release on Monday, the PMK leader said that the introduction of NEET led to a decline in opportunities for government school students to pursue medical education, leading to the introduction of a 7.5% reservation for them in medical admissions from the 2020–21 and the same measure of social justice should be extended to students of government-aided schools.
Of the approximately 1.20 crore students studying in schools, around 50% attended private schools, 35% went to government schools and the remaining 15% to government-aided schools and that there was no difference in the social and economic circumstances of students in government schools and government-aided schools.
Although government-aided schools were run by private organisations and charitable institutions, the government bore the cost of teachers’ salaries and administrative expenses with the standard of education in both categories of schools remaining broadly comparable, he said.
In 13 districts of Tamil Nadu, government-aided schools accounted for more than 20% of total student enrolment and in five of these districts, more students studied in government-aided schools than in government schools.
In areas where government-aided schools were established in large numbers in the past, government schools were not subsequently opened, leaving students with little choice but to enrol in aided institutions, he said.
The reason for introducing the 7.5% reservation for government school students was that clearing NEEToften required specialised coaching, for which government school students generally lacked the means, and the same consideration applied to students of government-aided schools, too, he said.
There was no substantial difference between the family incomes of students in government schools and those in government-aided schools, he said and urged the Tamil Nadu Government to ensure social justice for students of government-aided schools in medical college admissions by creating a separate 2.5% reservation for students of government-aided schools.
