Tamil Nadu health minister discusses NEET issues with education minister

New Delhi: Tamil Nadu Health Minister M Subramanian met Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan here on Thursday and discussed issues pertaining to the medical entrance exam NEET . Pradhan informed him that for the convenience of the students of Tamil Nadu, four cities -- Chengalpet, Virudhunagar, Dindigul and Tiruppur -- have been added to the list of places where NEET(UG) will be conducted.

"Health Minister, Government of Tamil Nadu, M Subramanian met me to discuss various issues of Tamil Nadu, including NEET (UG) 2021. Explained to him the background of the Supreme Court's directions in this regard. "Also, shared with him that to cater to regional aspirations, the number of languages being offered this year have been increased... with the addition of Malayalam and Punjabi. The exam is already being conducted in the Tamil language," Pradhan said in a series of tweets.

The number of cities has increased to 18 from 14 last year. The number of examination centres will also be increased, he said. The meeting comes a day after a high-level committee, led by retired Madras High Court judge A K Rajan, handed over its report to Chief Minister M K Stalin on the impact of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) in Tamil Nadu and related issues due to its implementation.

A petition in the Madras High Court, seeking to quash the Tamil Nadu government notification, constituting the high-level committee on NEET, has been dismissed by the court. Most parties, including the ruling DMK and main opposition AIADMK, are on the same page on NEET and have been demanding that the test be scrapped, arguing that it went against social justice, rural and government school students. The NEET-UG which was earlier scheduled on August 1 has now been postponed to September 12.

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