CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government issued an order (GO) on Thursday reserving 7.5% undergraduate medical seats for students who have studied from Class 6 to 12 in state government schools and have cleared NEET.
It will benefit government school students applying for undergraduate medical, dental, ayurveda, siddha, unani and homeopathy courses in state-run medical colleges and state quota seats in self-financing colleges. This would mean that more than 200 seats in government-run colleges and at least 150 seats in self-financing colleges will be reserved from the seat for students from government schools.
A Bill for 75% reservation passed by the legislative assembly on September 15 is pending before governor Banwarilal Purohit, who has sought legal opinion on the matter.
“Since the NEET-UG results have now been declared and the admission process has started, there is an urgency to decide on this issue and since the power to issue executive directions under Article 162 of the Constitutions of India is co-extensive with legislative powers, pending decision of the governor, the government has taken the decision,” said the issued by health secretary J Radhakrishnan.
He had earlier said the decision to place the Bill was made during the meeting of council of ministers on June 15 and July 14 after detailed discussions based on the Kalaiyarasan Commission report. Legal opinion to the state also said that this reservation would not violate Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution, he said.
The GO said children belonging to weaker sections and disadvantaged groups who have studied up to Class VIII in a specified category school or an unaided schools as per provisions of the Right to Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2008 and studied all remaining standards up to higher secondary in government schools will also be eligible for the preferential seats.
The horizontal reservation shall be provided in each category of vertical reservation followed in TN within 69% reservation from 2020, the order said.
The students from government schools, including schools run by panchayats, municipalities and corporations, welfare schools for adi dravidar, tribals, kallar reclamation, BC/MBC/differently abled welfare, forest, social defence (borstal) and residential, will be eligible for the quota.
Students in government schools would also be entitled to compete for government seats, other than those set apart on a preferential basis, along with students who studied in private schools, the order said. It directed the director of medical education, additional director of medical education and the directorate of Indian medicine and homeopathy to take necessary action.
Earlier this week, senior jurists told TOI that the state should have adopted the executive route by issuing a GO, instead of taking the legislative route of passing Bills.