Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa has urged the Centre to take steps to ensure that the state continues with its own procedure for medical and dental college admissions.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Jayalalithaa thanked him for promulgating an ordinance that provided exemption from the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for the coming academic year.

“The Government of Tamil Nadu has taken a number of steps in systematizing the admission process to medical colleges and after careful consideration,abolished the entrance examinations for the professional undergraduate courses in the State, by enacting the Tamil Nadu Admission in Professional Educational Institutions Act, 2006,” she said.

According to Jayalalithaa, the government had to take those steps to protect the interests of students from rural areas and weaker sections. “For admission to PG courses the state government gives preference to those who have served in rural areas, with special weightage for those working in hilly and tribal areas.

“The introduction of NEET would nullify the implementation of these policy initiatives and socio-economic objectives of the State, as the regulations fora national test may not have such enabling provisions,” she said.

The Chief Minister felt the national test is out of tune with the prevailing socio-economic milieu and administrative requirements of the State.