The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) was introduced under the slogan "One Nation, One Exam" with the objectives of regulating medical education in India and curbing the exorbitant fee exploitation by private colleges.
While the government's intent to select qualified candidates for the medical field-which directly deals with human lives, is understandable, the impact of this examination system on the social justice structure of Tamil Nadu, particularly on the lives of rural students, has been deeply profound and alarming.
In this article, we will examine in detail, backed by official statistics, how the medical dreams of rural Tamil Nadu students have been shattered before and after the introduction of the NEET exam.
The Steep Decline from Sixty Percent (60%): The Reality Shown by Statistics
Before the introduction of the NEET exam, medical admissions in Tamil Nadu were based solely on the 12th-grade public examination marks (Cut-off). At that time, rural students studying in government schools, government-aided schools, or ordinary State Board private schools secured medical seats without any hindrance by scoring high marks.
According to the official data released in 2021 by the Justice A.K. Rajan Committee, appointed by the Government of Tamil Nadu:
• Pre-NEET Era: The proportion of rural students admitted to medical colleges in Tamil Nadu stood at 61.45%. This meant that out of every 100 medical seats, approximately 61 went to rural students.
• Post-NEET Era: This number plummeted to an average of 50%, dropping as low as 49.9% in certain specific years.
In short, there has been a drastic decline of about 11.5% in the overall medical admission rate for rural Tamil Nadu students. This has unfairly snatched away the medical dreams of thousands of rural youths.
The Dominance of Coaching Centers and Curricular Injustice
There are two primary reasons why rural students have faced such a massive setback in open competition:
1. The Dominance of Coaching Culture
The NEET exam cannot be cleared through regular school education alone. Today, medical seats are largely secured by those who attend private coaching centers that charge lakhs of rupees, often spending multiple years as "repeaters." A simple farmer or a daily wage laborer living in a village does not possess the financial resources to send their children to such luxury coaching centers.
2. The Dominance of the Union Curriculum (CBSE)
The question papers for the NEET exam are predominantly designed around the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) syllabus of the Union Government. This educational system was originally established to provide a uniform curriculum for the children of central government employees (such as military and railway personnel) who faced frequent interstate transfers, ensuring their education was not disrupted by differing state boards.
To this day, the proportion of students studying under the CBSE system across India is merely 12%. The remaining 88% of students across the country study under various state education boards.
It is highly questionable why the Union Government deliberately designs question papers based on the CBSE syllabus, completely sidelining the interests of the 88% of students studying in state boards, seemingly to ensure that only the children of central government officials excel in higher education and elite employment.
Consequently, for rural students studying in the Tamil Nadu State Board in the Tamil medium, this has turned into an unequal competition right from the starting line.
Decline in National Credibility: Resistance Erodes the North as Well
While Tamil Nadu has resisted the NEET exam from the very beginning, its credibility has recently become a subject of intense debate on an All-India level, particularly among North Indian students.
Frequent scandals regarding NEET question paper leaks, examination malpractice, and marking discrepancies reported in newspapers and media have sent shockwaves across the nation.
As a result, even North Indian students and parents, who once believed NEET to be a highly fair and credible examination system, have completely lost faith in it and have taken to the streets in protest.
These nationwide discrepancies have provided strong validation for Tamil Nadu's long-standing argument that NEET is not a test of merit, but rather a breeding ground for malpractices.
The 7.5% Internal Reservation: Just First Aid, Not a Complete Solution
In the initial years following the implementation of NEET, the number of government school students entering medical colleges plummeted drastically to a mere 0.16%, amounting to just 5 or 6 students for the entire state, a stark contrast to the 60% observed in the pre-NEET era.
During that period, bright rural students from underprivileged backgrounds, like Anitha from the Ariyalur district, who had scored a phenomenal 1182 out of 1200 in her 12th-grade public exams faced severe emotional distress and tragically took their own lives upon realizing their medical dreams were shattered by this new system.
This deeply tragic event shook the conscience of Tamil Nadu.
To rectify this grave injustice, the Government of Tamil Nadu enacted the 7.5% Horizontal Internal Reservation law for government school students.
The Positive Shift:
Through this legislation, around 500 to 600 government school students, most of whom are from poor rural backgrounds receive completely free medical education every year. This is undeniably a monumental revolution in social justice.
However, we must critically analyze another vital aspect here:
In the pre-NEET era, the 60% of seats secured by rural students largely benefited truly underprivileged children. In contrast, since success in the post-NEET system relies heavily on expensive coaching methods, it is often the economically well-off families within those same villages whose children manage to secure the seats today.
Therefore, unlike the truly impoverished children selected in the absence of NEET, the children clearing the exam through open competition now tend to belong to the relatively privileged sections of rural society. When opportunities remain fundamentally unequal, how can this be hailed as true social justice?
Thus, the 7.5% internal reservation serves merely as "first aid" (a safety net) for marginalized government school students who were completely disenfranchised by NEET. It does not fully compensate for the overarching loss suffered by rural students. Even after providing this reservation, the total admission rate for rural students has failed to restore its original level of 61.45%, let alone reach 65%.
Reclaiming the Rights of Rural Students
While it is true that the NEET system has brought some transparency by curbing donation malpractices in private colleges, the undeniable, bitter truth remains that it has made the medical dreams of rural Tamil Nadu students an unattainable goal.
Though the 7.5% internal reservation has offered temporary protection, this examination system, tainted by national malpractices like paper leaks and responsible for the loss of lives like Anitha's, continues to strip away the collective right to medical education from millions of rural and mother-tongue (Tamil) medium students.
Until education and healthcare are restored as policy decisions under the absolute jurisdiction of state governments, the future creation of "rural doctors" who heal India will remain a looming question mark!
-Chitha Satguru Yozen Balki
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