Jaya opposes CET at national level for admissions to tech education

Updated on: Thursday, August 19, 2010

Opposing Centre’s proposed Common Entrance Test (CET) at the national level for admissions to technical education, AIADMK today described it as a “death knell” to social justice, especially in Tamil Nadu and warned of agitations against it.

If implemented, it would affect the state government’s reservation policy of 69 per cent in educational institutions, forcing the government to go for 50 per cent, AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa said here.

Demanding Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi to take up the matter with Centre and ensure that the proposal did not see the light of the day, Ms. Jayalalithaa warned of agitations across the country if the proposal was implemented.

“The medium of instruction for a majority of students in Tamil Nadu is Tamil. Since the CET is likely to be conducted in English or Hindi, it would be very difficult for students to clear it,” she said in a statement.

This would especially affect educational prospects of students of backward and most backward communities and state government’s 69 per cent reservation in vogue since the days of former Chief Minister late M. G. Ramachandran, she said.

“The move will only benefit urban students since they have knowledge of English and Hindi and also all access to necessary preparatory modules for the CET both of which the rural students lack, especially in Tamil Nadu,” she said.

“Therefore the CET will act as a ‘barrier’ to rural students in the state aspiring to join technical courses, she said. Further, in the event of the implementation of CET, more students from other states would come to Tamil Nadu for professional education but not many may stay here after graduating,” she said.

“Therefore this will in no way help Tamil Nadu. On the whole, the proposed CET is a death knell to social justice, as it is bound to benefit only a section of students,” she said.

In fact, her government had abolished CET for technical education a few years back to benefit rural students, she said.

Recently, Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal had proposed a single national-level common entrance test for technical education in the country.

Jaya opposes CET at national level for admissions to tech education

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