85% MBBS quota for Tamil Nadu Board students opposed by CBSE students

Alleged to have catered to the needs of private institutions, the Tamil Nadu Government notified a reservation of 85% of MBBS seats for state board students. This was brought to notice by the counsels for a group of CBSE students who filed an appeal against the government's move in favour of the quota.

Senior counsel representing CBSE students Nalini Chidambaram and P S Raman made the presentation to a division bench of justice Nooty Ramamohana Rao and Justice M Dhandapani. The duo were hearing an appeal the government moved against the single judge's order of July 14 who had quashed the quota. 

It is said that in the past 10 years, only 340 students from rural government state board schools have secured medical seats, proving that the state government was wrong in safeguarding the interest of rural state board students through reservation. To this, the counsel of state board students-N L Rajah- said that even the 340 students would not have secured the seats had the government not been proactive. Arguing on behalf of the state board students, senior counsel P Wilson said, "The state board and CBSE follow different syllabi, methods of teaching and methods of examination," he said. "[With] the state board being different from CBSE, and NEET conducted solely on the basis of the CBSE syllabus, state board students are at a disadvantage."

Speaking to the Times of India, Wilson further added, "the government took its decision on reservation to provide students with a level playing field." The bench, meanwhile, postponed the hearing to July 26. 

• tamil nadu
• south