NEET’s promise has failed; it’s time to trust States
The Hindu editorial argues that NEET has failed to deliver a fair, merit-based medical admission system and has instead increased coaching dependence, inequality, and centralisation in admissions.
- Tamil Nadu’s early objection to NEET was rooted in the view that a single national test is structurally unfair for diverse school systems.
The Hindu editorial argues that the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) has not delivered the promise of fair and transparent medical admissions in India. The author links recent student protests to a deeper policy dispute: whether a single nationwide entrance exam is the right way to select future doctors, or whether States should have greater control over admissions and school-based assessment.
UPSC can frame NEET as a governance and social justice debate: whether a single national entrance test advances merit and transparency, or whether it deepens inequality, centralises admissions, and weakens cooperative federalism in education.
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