PAC must review NTA’s administration: Jairam Ramesh

New Delhi, June 16

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh has sparked debate over the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), calling for

a comprehensive review of its impact and administration by the Parliamentary Standing Committee.

Ramesh, who served on the Parliament’s Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare from 2014 to 2019, highlighted concerns surrounding NEET’s potential bias towards CBSE-affiliated students, disadvantaging those from non-CBSE backgrounds, particularly in states like Tamil Nadu.

Integrity at stake

There are serious questions on the integrity of the National Testing Agency itself and the manner in which NEET is designed and administered. NCERT itself has lost all professionalism in the last decade. —Jairam Ramesh, Congress leader

During his tenure on the committee, Ramesh noted broad support for NEET but acknowledged dissenting voices, particularly from Tamil Nadu MPs, who cautioned that the standardised test might favour students educated under the

CBSE curriculum. He expressed the need for a critical examination into whether NEET perpetuates discrimination against students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, denying them equitable educational opportunities.

“I do think now that this CBSE issue needs proper analysis. Is NEET discriminatory? Are students from poorer backgrounds being denied opportunities? Other states like Maharashtra also have expressed grave doubts on NEET,” he shared a post on his account X.