The suicide of a 17 year old medical aspirant has snowballed into a major political controversy in Tamil Nadu around NEET.
This brings back the focus on the need for de-regulating admissions.
What is the basic problem?
People against NEET argue that the exam imposes unreasonable demands on students from rural areas.
Its supporters, on the other hand, say that NEET is a welcome push to improve the quality of school education in the State.
Interestingly, both sides agree that the government has a crucial role to play in education.
It’s just that one group wants the Centre to be in charge, while others prefer the State government.
How has education been politicised?
The rigor of school education standards in Tamil Nadu was reduced with the introduction of “Samacheer”.
This was a populist moves to appease rural voters.
The current State government has been more than willing to tweak college admission rules to suit its political ambitions.
The Centre’s stance on NEET has also been fluctuating in tandem with its political equation in the state, which was the primary reason for the uncertainty created.
The only real solution to prevent polarisation in the long run is to keep politicians out of education by de-regulating it.
This involves freeing higher educational institutions from government control by giving autonomy to choose the tests based on which they admit students.
Will deregulating admissions help?
It is believed that colleges which have their reputation on the line will care more than the government about the quality of students they admit.
This will also effectively end politicisation of education.
Critics however, fear that in the absence of a central regulator, some colleges will admit students without sufficient screening.
They might resort to profiteering by granting admissions in an unfair manner.
While deregulation is a good option in the long run, it should also be noted that Autonomy should come with Accountability.
