Tamil Nadu government reiterates stance to abolish NEET
Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay maintains that Class 12 board marks should be the only criterion for professional course admissions.
The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday reaffirmed its commitment to abolishing the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for medical college admissions. According to the Deccan Chronicle, the state government also expressed opposition to all centralised common entrance examinations for higher education admissions.
Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay conveyed this position during a high-level consultative meeting at the Secretariat. He met with the Chairman of the High-Level Task Force on Examination Reforms, Nandan Nilekani, and panel members V Kamakoti, Anita Karwal, and Sankar Maruvada.
The Chief Minister highlighted a resolution unanimously adopted by the State Legislative Assembly on August 11, 2026. He recommended the complete abolition of NEET and similar entrance evaluations for medical and other advanced degree programmes.
The state government stated that entrance tests place rural and underprivileged students at an acute disadvantage. It maintained that using school-level evaluation ensures equity, social justice, and federal autonomy in higher education.
The meeting included Minister for School Education, Tamil Growth, Information and Publicity Rajmohan, Chief Secretary M Saikumar, and other senior officials.