3 weeks ago
Tamil Nadu Assembly Passes Anti-NEET Resolution, Seeks Class 12 Admissions
The government of Tamil Nadu, a state in India, wants to change how students get into medical school.
Right now, students in India must pass one big test called NEET to become doctors.
The state government says this test is not fair for students who study in Tamil and for children from villages or families without much money.
Many families spend a lot of money on special coaching classes just for the test, and students end up focusing on the test instead of their regular schoolwork.
Tamil Nadu wants medical schools to use the marks students get in their Class 12 school exams instead of one single day's test.
The state tried to make this change in 2021, but the national government has not approved its law yet.
The big test has also had serious problems, like leaked question papers, and one year it had to be cancelled and taken again, which upset thousands of students; some articles say this was 2024, while one says 2026.
The state says the test has caused so much sadness and pressure that some students even hurt themselves.
Tamil Nadu is also worried about a new national law about money that charities get from other countries, because it could let the government take over or sell charity buildings and property.
The state wants the national government to talk with the states and with charities before making that law.
The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly urged the Union Government to abolish NEET and admit students to undergraduate medical courses on Class 12 marks; most reports call the resolution unanimous, though one article reports the lone BJP MLA staged a walkout.
Moved by Health Minister K G Arunraj, the resolution says NEET is against social justice, equality and states' rights, and gravely undermines opportunities for rural, socio-economically disadvantaged and Tamil-medium students while promoting exorbitantly priced coaching centres.
The Assembly's Bill No. 43 of 2021, seeking a state exemption from NEET, remains pending without presidential approval, and the resolution urges amendments to central medical education laws so NEET is given up nationally.
The resolution cites repeated question paper leaks and irregularities — including the cancellation and re-conduct of NEET-UG (2024 in some articles, 2026 in another) — and student suicides linked to exam distress, concluding NEET must be abolished.
A separate resolution opposes the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, arguing its provisions allowing takeover or sale of charity assets would undermine the autonomy of charitable organisations, especially minority-run institutions.
- Who
- The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, with Health Minister K G Arunraj moving the resolution and all major parties — the ruling TVK, DMK, AIADMK, Congress and Left parties — backing it (one article reports the lone BJP MLA walked out); Chief Minister Vijay separately welcomed the related State Song resolution.
- What
- Passing resolutions urging the Union Government to abolish NEET, admit students to undergraduate medical courses based on Class 12 marks, and withdraw the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 in its present form.
- Where
- The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
- When
- Tuesday, following a Monday Assembly resolution on the State Song 'Tamil Thai Vazhthu'.
- Why
- To protect Tamil-medium, rural and socio-economically disadvantaged students from NEET's impact and to safeguard the autonomy of charitable organisations from the FCRA amendment's asset-related provisions.
Tamil Nadu Government / State Assembly
Union Government / Existing Central Policy
NEET for medical admissions
Tamil Nadu Government / State Assembly
Abolish NEET and admit students based on Class 12 marks; the single-day test widens social and economic inequality, harms Tamil-medium, rural and socio-economically disadvantaged students, feeds costly coaching centres and has lost trust after repeated leaks and the cancelled, re-conducted NEET-UG exam.
Union Government / Existing Central Policy
Keep NEET as the uniform national entrance test for undergraduate medical admissions; central laws continue to mandate it, and Tamil Nadu's exemption Bill (Bill No. 43 of 2021) has not received presidential approval.
Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026
Tamil Nadu Government / State Assembly
Withdraw the Bill in its present form and hold comprehensive consultations with states and stakeholders; provisions allowing the government to take over, manage, dispose of or sell charity assets would undermine the autonomy of charitable organisations, especially minority-run educational and social welfare institutions.
Union Government / Existing Central Policy
Proceed with the Bill, whose provisions allow the government to take over, manage, dispose of or sell assets of charitable organisations after the expiry, non-renewal, refusal, cancellation or surrender of their FCRA registration.
Key facts
- State
- Tamil Nadu
- Resolution 1
- Adopted opposing NEET; undergraduate medical admissions based on Class 12 marks
- Resolution 2
- Opposition to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026
- Moved by
- Health Minister K G Arunraj
- Pending state bill
- Bill No. 43 of 2021; presidential assent withheld
- Cited exam incident
- NEET-UG 2024 cancelled and re-conducted after paper leaks (one article cites NEET-UG 2026)
- Laws urged to amend
- National Medical Commission Act, 2019; National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Act, 2020; National Commission for Homoeopathy Act, 2020
- Related resolution
- State Song 'Tamil Thai Vazhthu' to be sung in public institutions
Quotes
Health Minister K G Arunraj
Tamil Nadu Health Minister
“The repeated question paper leakages and irregularities in conducting the NEET, which culminated in the cancellation of the NEET (UG) 2026 and the conduct of a re‑examination, has caused untold mental agony to lakhs of students, even leading to the tragic loss of young lives, and the examination system has forfeited the trust of the students of this country.”
freepressjournal.in
“It gravely undermines the medical education opportunities of rural and socio-economically disadvantaged students, ... a single day’s test, rather than twelve years of school education, now determines the course of a student's higher education.”
freepressjournal.in
Sources
TN Assembly to Pass Resolutions Opposing NEET, FCRA Bill
NEET is against 'social justice, equality, and rights of states': Tamil Nadu Assembly passes anti-NEET resolution
Tamil Nadu Assembly To Urge Centre To Abolish NEET, Oppose FCRA Amendment Bill Over Student, Charity Concerns | Video
Tamil Nadu Assembly Unanimously Passes Resolution To Abolish NEET, Seeks Class 12-Based Medical Admissions | Video
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