Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) actor and leader Vijay speaking at a special get-together organised to felicitate toppers of the recently held Class 10 and 12 exams, in Chennai on Wednesday, July 3. Photo Credit: @TheRoute/X
Days after the Tamil Nadu Assembly passed a resolution urging the Central government to abolish the controversial medical entrance exam, the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), actor and Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) leader Vijay criticised the NEET exams and urged bringing back the education and sanitation departments from the concurrent list to the state list.
Vijay said this while speaking at the second phase of the special get-together organised by TVK to felicitate the toppers of the recently held class 10th and 12th exams on Wednesday, July 3, 2024. The event was held at the Ramachandra Convention Centre in Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai.
Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) actor and leader Vijay speaking at a special get-together organised to felicitate toppers of the recently held Class 10 and 12 exams, in Chennai on Wednesday, July 3. Photo Credit: @TheRoute/X
Vijay explained how the NEET exam affects students from poor, economically backward and underprivileged classes. He said he sees three issues in the implementation of NEET. “Firstly, it is against the rights of the state government. Before 1975, education was under the state list, and then the central government put it in the concurrent list – I believe that is where the problem started.”
Vijay then said that the educational policy of ‘one nation, one lesson plan, one exam’ is against the primary objective of education, “as lesson plans should be re-designed according to the states.”
“I am not just saying this to get the state government’s powers back, but to ensure that the education system encourages students to look at things from different perspectives. Diversity is a strength, not a weakness,” Vijay said, questioning the fairness of judging a student trained in the state board curriculum on the NCERT syllabus. “Imagine the plight of a student who comes from a village and aspires to become a doctor.”
Vijay said the cancellation of the “haphazardly planned” NEET exams has led to distrust among the public. “We can conclude from such news that we no longer need NEET exams.” Ultimately, as a solution to these issues, Vijay demanded that the NEET exams be scrapped and he welcomes the resolution passed by the Tamil Nadu assembly. “I request the central government to respect the sentiments of Tamil Nadu and resolve this issue expeditiously.”
Also read:Allegations on NEET-UG 2024 | Explanation
Urging to bring education back to the State List, Vijay said if there are complications in doing so, then an amendment to the Constitution should be passed as an interim solution to create an exclusive Concurrent List for education and sanitation. “The problem with the Concurrent List is that even though state governments have power over the departments listed in it, the Central government still has control over these departments. So my request is that state governments be given complete freedom in managing these departments.”
“Maybe if needed, the central government can conduct NEET only for the institutes like PGI and AIIMS that are under its control. Look, these are just my suggestions. I know very well that there will not be quick progress in this matter and even if there is a change, there are many forces that will ensure that it does not happen,” Vijay said in his final note before urging students to look at education as a celebration. “Don’t take any stress. The world is huge and there is no dearth of opportunities for us.”
It is worth noting that on Friday, June 28, due to persistent protests against the exam in Tamil Nadu because of widespread irregularities in NEET, the state assembly passed a resolution urging the central government to “immediately approve Tamil Nadu’s NEET exemption bill” and “make necessary amendments in the National Medical Commission Act” to abolish NEET at the national level.
