Withdraw decision to conduct CUET: Stalin to PM Modi

Dubbing the decision to conduct a Common University Entrance Examination (CUET) for admission into Central varsities as a “regressive and undesirable step”, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Wednesday said the move would put students from the state in a “disadvantageous position” and demanded its withdrawal.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Stalin said a CUET based on the NCERT syllabus will “side-line our diverse school education systems” and argued that the “regressive step” has clearly vindicated the consistent stand of the Tamil Nadu government that NEET was not isolated instance but a “definitive prelude” to the larger attempt of the Union Government to centralise higher education admissions.

“There is no doubt that this CUET, similar to NEET, will side-line the diverse school education systems across the country, grossly undermine the relevance of overall development-oriented long-form learning in schools and make students rely upon coaching centres for improving their entrance examination scores,” Stalin said in the letter.

Any entrance examination that is based on the NCERT syllabus will not provide an equal opportunity to all students who have studied in varied State Board syllabi across the country, Stalin said, adding that over 80 per cent of students choose the state board syllabus.

An NCERT syllabus based entrance examination would place 80 per cent of this “deserving majority in a disadvantageous position in securing admission in Central Universities,” he argued. In Tamil Nadu’s context, the CM said, the move is likely to drastically reduce the number of students from our State in various Central Universities and their affiliated colleges.

“The people of Tamil Nadu are apprehensive that like NEET, CUET also will be against the interests of the rural poor and socially marginalised students from the State and will only favour further mushrooming of coaching centres in the domain of admission in humanities also,” Stalin added.

He also said the government feels that the “indirect pressure” brought on by the UGC on Non-Central Universities to adopt CUET is likely to make this centralisation process even stronger. This trend would, over a course of time, undermine the State syllabus based school education system by pushing students to opt for costly schools adopting the NCERT syllabus, he added.

Accusing the Union Government of trying to sideline both the roles of State Governments as well as the significance of the school education system in the process of admission to higher educational institutions, Stalin demanded the withdrawal of the move.

Taking to Twitter, Stalin shared a copy of the letter on his verified page and wrote: “#CUET based on NCERT syllabus will i) side-line our diverse school education systems; ii) favour mushrooming of coaching centres; iii) place students from our state in a disadvantageous position. Hence, I urge Hon'ble @PMOIndia to withdraw this regressive & undesirable step.”