The anti-NEET bill in Tamil Nadu
Education
Earlier this week, the Tamil Nadu Assembly passed the Tamil Nadu Admission to Undergraduate Medical Degree Courses Bill. The bill seeks to stop admissions on the basis of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and grant medical education admissions on the basis of Class 12 marks.
The Bill is based on the findings of Justice AK Rajan Committee, which analyzed the impact of social status, economic backwardness, and reservation, on the performance of students in a national examination.
“NEET favours the elite and the rich”
The move came after a 19-year-old student, son of a farm labourer, died by suicide on Sunday. Appearing for the exam for the third time, the young student gave in to the fear of failing.
While introducing the bill, Chief Minister MK Stalin said that it seeks to bring vulnerable student communities to the “mainstream of medical and dental education and in turn ensure a robust public health care across the state, particularly the rural areas”.
Bill needs President’s nod
Falling under the List III (Concurrent List) of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, the matter is in conflict with the Union Law. In case of conflict between centre and state laws, provisions of the Central law prevail.
If the State law obtains the President's assent, Bill will prevail.
History of similar bills
A similar bill introduced in 2017 by the AIADMK government, was denied the President’s nod. Further, the Supreme Court had directed the government to stick to NEET, stating there would be compromise on the intellect in case exemption was granted.
Similarly, in 2011, Supreme Court declined to interfere with a Madras High Court judgment upholding the abolition of the Common Entrance Test for admission to professional courses in Tamil Nadu.
Is there any other way out?
Jallikattu, a bull-taming sport traditionally part of the Pongal festival, was banned after the Supreme Court’s 2014 verdict. An amendment to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, was needed to remove the basis on which the judgment was passed.
The State government promulgated an Ordinance which was consented to, by the Centre, on behalf of the President.
Or Tamil Nadu could challenge the Medical Council of India Amendment, under which NEET was introduced, as being constitutionally invalid.
FOR
Should the bill be made law?
A single-day centralized exam, NEET puts an enormous amount of pressure on students.
Medical examinations should have a similar system to that of Engineering candidates, to have both state and central level exams.
Based on CBSE/NCERT syllabus, the exam is unfair for students from State Boards and rural areas, where the standard of education may be lower.
The focus of the bill is to ensure public health as a fundamental right of the citizens, and not just on education.
NEET led to increase in cost of private education
After the introduction of NEET, private institutions couldn’t collect capitation fees, this led to private medical colleges across India to substantially hike their tuition fee.
Apart from the hike in tuition fees, the capitation fee was still being collected in cash in multiple states.
Tamil Nadu saw the highest increase in the cost of private medical education. The cost of government medical colleges remained the same.
AGAINST
Why should we insist on NEET?
It offers a common syllabus across the country.
A medical degree allows one to practice anywhere in India, not just in the State where the degree was obtained. The Centre should have a right to insist on minimum standards.
In its draft fee fixation guidelines, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has barred medical colleges from charging capitation fees and has guided institutions to fix their fee based on operating costs. With this move, the need to discard NEET on the basis of increasing costs is eliminated.
Did you know: Plastic surgery is India's gift to the world
History
While a common misconception in relating India and plastic surgery may be mythological stories around it, there are some concrete scientific pieces of evidence that prove plastic surgery has its roots in India.
India and plastic surgery go way back to 800 BCE, which is around the time when first signs of reconstructive surgery similar to Rhinoplasty in modern times have taken place. Since then, it has been passed down generations of scholars, each adding to the craft unique methods and modifications.
Maharishi Sushruta
An Indian Physician (Vaidya) in the 6th Century BCE, living in the city of Kashi (now Banaras), Sushruta has been widely regarded as the 'Father of Indian Medicine' and 'Father of Plastic Surgery’. He has documented what is possibly the earliest Indian works in medicine and surgery.
In his documented treatise ‘Sushruta Samhita’, he detailed not just general surgical methods but also in-depth treatment methods for fractures and dislocations- some of which confounds orthos even today.
Written in Sanskrit, SUSHRUTA SAMAHITA (translated: Sushrut’s compendium), is one of the longest surviving works on medicine and surgery, and has served as a foundational text to Ayurveda.
Vast coverage
Not only does the book have impressive chapters on general surgery, but its 184 chapters cover more than 1000 illnesses, including medicinal plants and mineral preparations for their cure.
One of the most extensive accounts in the text covers step-by-step modern-day equivalent procedures to rhinoplasty- known popularly today as ‘nose job’.
Rhinoplasty
RHINOPLASTY (Greek: rhī́s- nose, plássein-to shape), is a procedure to change the shape of the nose that serves two purposes:
Improved breathing
Cosmetic look
It’s worth mentioning that since ancient Indian society, the nose has remained a symbol of dignity and respect (“naak katwa di”). So much so that amputation of the nose was frequently used as punishment for criminals, prisoners and people who indulged in adultery. Indian rhinoplasty initially started as a need to reconstruct this incised nose, before developing into a full-fledged science.
Sushruta Samhita has the earliest mentions of FOREHEAD-FLAP RHINOPLASTY- a technique in which a flap of skin from the forehead is used to form a new nose.
Even in those days, Sushruta emphasised accurate cutting and healing techniques, and maintenance of nose airways using tubes. Citing lack of anaesthesia, patients were given wine to drink to put them to sleep.
Additionally, even the tools used in the process hold vast similarities to surgical instruments today.
Sushruta Samahita travelled to all parts of the world
It was translated in Arabic in the 8th century ( ‘Kitab Shah Shun al-Hindi’), in Latin in the 19th century, in English in 1907 and also has references in Cambodia as well as in the monasteries of Tibet.
The knowledge was carried into Greece and Arabia by Buddhist Missionaries. Certain German scholars who studied the original text, along with British surgeons and French travellers who witnessed rhinoplasty performed in India, revealed the wonders and practical possibilities of this speciality to the Western world.
Eventually, the discovery of anaesthesia and antiseptics revolutionised these ancient surgical practices, making them painless and infection-free.
Modern-day medical practices owe a great debt to Sushruta and his methods. The ‘Source book of plastic surgery’ by Frank McDowell described him as: “Through all of Sushruta's flowery language, incantations and irrelevancies, there shines the unmistakable picture of a great surgeon.”
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