When Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin tabled the bill to repeal the NEET in Tamil Nadu on Monday, it has apparently displayed that he has intensified his battle against the national medical exam, which still haunts the medical aspirants in Tamil Nadu. The bill was passed in the assembly, marking a fresh beginning of an ordeal in scrapping the exam as what he has been up to is a Himalayan task and that it can't be achieved as leniently as most of the DMK poll promises. 

The mission of getting rid of the NEET can be accomplished only with the backing of the Union government. As the first stop, Stalin's bill has to get cleared in the Governor's desk, it then has to win the Union government before reaching its final stop - the presidential consent. The trajectory between each stop would consist of a pile of challenges that the DMK government must go through to bring back the act to Tamil Nadu that the NEET has been put into history. Repealing NEET from the state would be an acid test for MK Stalin, can he win the battle against the NEET? Let's take a look at the obstacles that lie before him.

On Monday, the assembly had passed the bill to enact a law for repealing the NEET and the bill has prescribed to provide admission to medical courses based on Class 12 marks to ensure social justice. Moving the bill in the assembly, MK Stalin said that the bill was tabled based on the recommendations of the AK Rajan committee, which was formed by the DMK government to study the impact of NEET. The committee has disclosed its report in July 2021 in which it has underlined that nearly 90% of the respondents were against the NEET. 

The Chief Minister said that the NEET has destroyed the hopes of students from Tamil Nadu, particularly those from socially and economically backward sections. He further added that the Justice Rajan committee has concluded that NEET has placed students from economically weaker sections at a disadvantageous position. While the BJP had opposed the bill and staged a walkout from the assembly, the ADMK had supported the bill. The bill, the Tamil Nadu Admission to Undergraduate Medical Degree Courses Act 2021, was successfully passed, but it's not the final success. 

The experts in the know say that MK Stalin's battle against the NEET will less likely get accomplished as he will be facing major obstacles both on political and constitutional grounds. On the front of the political obstacle, the bill needs the consent of the Union government and the President. On the front of a constitutional obstacle, education, after the 42nd amendment, falls under the concurrent list where the Centre and the states have equal power to enact laws. Concurrent list is a list of 52 items given in the Seventh Schedule of the Indian Constitution. 

Some of the items on the Concurrent list includes education, social security, employment, economic and social planning, drugs, forests, bankruptcy, marriage, contracts, preventive detention, stamp duties, and electricity. Both the Union and state governments can enjoy power in these areas and enact laws. If the Union government enacts a law on education, it will be applicable to all the states. There has been no friendly arm for the DMK on both fronts and the party may end up fighting in the courts. As the drive is tougher, there is no assurance that the NEET will be scrapped next year. 

According to the legal experts, as education is on the concurrent list, the Union government has more power to amend a clause or repeal an Act. As per entry 25 of List III, the state government cannot pass a law, as such passage is vested with the Parliament. Entry of 25 of List III mentions that education, including technical education, medical education, and universities are under the concurrent list. Having said that, MK Stalin's bill would likely lose its legal validity unless the Union government backs it. However, it is not possible as the government is running through the propaganda of 'one nation, one exam'. 

If the bill fails to get consent from the President, the only available option is to knock on the doors of the court. However, Supreme Court had already upheld the NEET and given a clear go-ahead for the national exam. The DMK government must fight a puzzle of finding the key to enact the law of repealing the NEET in Tamil Nadu as the political, constitutional, and judicial doors would be shut. The DMK has come under pressure over fulfilling its poll promise of scrapping the NEET and the bill was passed on the last day of the assembly session on Monday. 

Speaking to a news agency, a doctor has said that if the President approves the bill, Tamil Nadu can get exemption from the NEET and it is still achievable by making an amendment in the National Medical Commission Act, 2019, by awarded exclusion to the state which is not willing to utilise NEET marks for the medical admission for the state government-controlled seats. The doctor has added that the bill passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly has taken support from the recommendations from the AK Rajan committee, which was not there in the earlier bill passed by the then ADMK regime. 

The cavalry that the DMK regime can use is the support from the states that are strongly opposing the NEET. MK Stalin can reach out to these states and gather support from them. When the club of states is approaching the judiciary, it has to somehow listen up to the states. The experts say that for admitting students under the All India quota seats by the Union government like AIIMS and JIPMER, NEET exams can't be exempted. These obstacles and politics have been distressing the medical aspirants in the state as their dreams of becoming doctors have been hanging in balance. The experts urge that the government must explore more options to resolve the problems faced by the students in tuition fees as several medical colleges and varsities are charging lakhs per medical seat. 

For MK Stalin, hope may be dimmed but if he manages to pass the act, it will be historical, though it's not the end. The state government must work on fixing the flaws in pursuing medical courses in Tamil Nadu. The government should address the concerns of the students who are chasing their dreams amid facing geographical and linguistic hardships like the students who are living in hilly areas and studying in a Tamil medium government-aided school and it also should make sure that these students have access to uninterrupted education. Until all these crises are addressed, there is no dawn for the medical aspirants in Tamil Nadu. MK Stalin may lose his battle and he must work towards ensuring that the dreams of students aren't lost.