PUDUCHERRY: The Puducherry government has decided to provide 10% internal reservation for government and government-aided school students, who clear NEET, in medical courses. Chief minister V Narayanasamy said the government has sent the file to lieutenant governor Kiran Bedi for approval on Tuesday. If approved, the policy will come into effect immediately.
Narayanasamy told reporters on Tuesday that the government has sent a file conveying its decision to lieutenant governor Kiran Bedi for her approval. If approved, the reservation policy will be published in the government gazette and will come into force immediately. If not approved by the lieutenant governor, the elected government will commence the fight for the reservation policy, he said.
Narayanasamy pointed out that only 94 students from government and government-aided schools had cleared Neet in 2018-19 when compared to 1,846 students from private schools. “Only 16 students from government and government-aided schools joined medicine while 243 students from private schools joined medicine last year. Of the 16, 11 are from Mahe, three from Karaikal and two from Puducherry," he said.
He pointed out that private school students, who follow CBSE pattern and undergo exclusive coaching and training clear NEET easily, while students from government and government-aided school lag behind without proper coaching and training.
The Congress government has taken the 'executive route' of passing an order reserving 10% seats in medicine for students from government and government-aided schools and seeking the approval of Bedi and the Union government instead of introducing a bill in this regard.
A cross-section of political pundits and legal experts opined that Narayanasamy has scored on the political ground by making such a populist announcement, which may not pass the test of law.
It may be recalled that the Tamil Nadu government decided to provide 7.5% horizontal reservation for students from government schools, who clear NEET, in medical education. The Tamil Nadu legislative assembly unanimously passed a bill in this regard and sent it to governor Banwarilal Purohit for his assent. Purohit had insisted four weeks’ time to seek legal opinion before taking a call on the issue. Political leaders including BJP irrespective of party lines have urged Purohit to give assent to the bill.