Chennai, November 4: The Tamil Nadu government has officially called for the abolition of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and other national-level entrance examinations. During a meeting at the state secretariat on Wednesday, officials urged the high-powered task force led by former UIDAI chairman Nandan Nilekani to shift the focus of higher education admissions back to Class XII academic performance, Mirror Now reported. The Times of India reported that the task force held its meeting with Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on Wednesday.

Source: Mirror Now

Following the meeting, an official update from Chief Minister Vijay's office confirmed that the state government reiterated its firm opposition to NEET. The administration proposed that instead of relying on centralised entrance exams, universities and colleges should use Class XII examination results as the standard metric for admitting students into medical and other professional courses, Mirror Now reported. The discussion at the secretariat included School Education Minister A. Rajmohan and Chief Secretary M. Sai Kumar, who represented the government's position.

The Union government established the task force headed by Nilekani to propose comprehensive reforms for national entrance examinations; its primary mandate is to enhance the security and transparency of these testing processes, including preventing question-paper leaks and protecting systemic integrity, Mirror Now reported. The panel has received more than 54,000 suggestions from students, parents and other stakeholders and is consulting state governments before finalising its recommendations, with its tenure extended till January 2027, Medical Dialogues reported in its coverage of the panel's work.

Source: Medical Dialogues

Tamil Nadu's demand aligns with its long-standing stance, reinforced by the unanimous resolution passed by the state Legislative Assembly on August 11. The state government maintains that national entrance tests create significant disadvantages for students schooled through the state board system, particularly those from rural backgrounds, and it has consistently sought an exemption from NEET, arguing that the current system undermines students from diverse educational backgrounds, Mirror Now reported. The state has also previously relied on the findings of the Justice A.K. Rajan Committee of 2021, which examined NEET's impact on government-school, Tamil-medium and disadvantaged students, as reported in coverage of the panel's consultations.

Wednesday's formal submission is a representation to a reform panel, not a change in the law: NEET remains the admission route unless the Union government and the task force process lead to a policy change. What happens next depends on the panel's final recommendations, due by January 2027, and on any decision the Centre takes on them.