Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has formally urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to keep allied health courses outside the ambit of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), raising serious constitutional, academic, and social concerns over the recent move to extend the examination to these programmes. In a detailed letter addressed to the Prime Minister, Stalin described the decision as irrational, unfair, and a direct encroachment on the constitutional authority of state governments.
In his communication, sent on Saturday, the Chief Minister stressed that admission procedures for Allied Health Care courses should continue to fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the states. He called on the Centre to urgently reconsider and withdraw the directive issued by the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions, arguing that the mandate had been imposed without adequate reasoning or consultation with state governments.
Stalin strongly objected to the new requirement that candidates merely appear for NEET in order to become eligible for admission to courses such as Bachelor of Physiotherapy and Bachelor of Occupational Therapy from the current academic year. He pointed out that the idea of treating mere appearance in an examination as a qualification has no academic basis. Internationally, he noted, eligibility is typically determined either by passing an examination or by achieving a clearly defined minimum score, not by simply sitting for the test.
According to Stalin, making NEET appearance compulsory without prescribing any meaningful qualifying benchmark appears to be an attempt to normalise and gradually expand the reach of NEET across a wider segment of society. He warned that such an approach would inevitably compel millions of students to enrol in coaching centres, thereby benefiting the NEET coaching industry while placing an unfair financial burden on economically weaker families.
The Chief Minister also underlined that both health and education are subjects that fall squarely within the constitutional domain of state governments. He expressed strong displeasure over the fact that states were not consulted before the decision was taken, calling this omission unacceptable. Emphasising cooperative federalism, Stalin insisted that policies affecting admissions must respect state autonomy and be framed through proper consultation.
Questioning the argument that NEET ensures academic quality, Stalin cited what he described as the steady dilution of qualifying cut-offs for MBBS admissions. He noted that NEET scores required for MBBS seats have, in many cases, been reduced to extremely low levels, effectively close to zero. In this context, he argued, invoking quality as a justification for extending NEET to allied health courses lacks credibility and relevance.
Highlighting the social impact of the policy, Stalin pointed out that Tamil Nadu alone has more than 50,000 seats in allied health care programmes and that applicants to these courses generally come from far poorer socio-economic backgrounds than those aspiring for MBBS degrees. Forcing such students and their families to spend money on NEET coaching, he said, would amount to a grave injustice and could shut out large numbers of deserving candidates.
Concluding his letter, Stalin emphasised the urgency of the issue and appealed for the Prime Minister’s direct intervention. He urged the Centre to act swiftly to withdraw the NEET requirement for allied health courses, reiterating that safeguarding state rights and ensuring equitable access to education must remain a priority.
