V. Jayanth and

K. Ramachandran

CHENNAI: Political parties and private self-financing colleges have welcomed Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's announcement doing away with entrance tests for admission to professional courses with effect from this academic year itself.

Most of the Opposition parties have been demanding the abolition of the entrance test as it was a "torture" to the students and caused tension to the parents. Pattali Makkal Katchi founder S. Ramadoss and Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president G.K. Vasan welcomed the change, with the PMK leader hailing it as a "victory" for his party and its agitation.

Academics, administrators in Anna University and parents are now concerned about the norms to be worked out for drawing up the merit list for admission. This is bound to be "a hair-splitting exercise," university sources say.

"On behalf of the Consortium of Self-Financing Professional and Arts and Science Colleges in Tamil Nadu, I wholeheartedly thank our Chief Minister for taking immediate action in abolishing the common entrance test to admit students in the professional courses. This is a long pending dream of our consortium," the consortium's president Jeppiaar said in a statement.

But P.V. Navaneethakrishnan, former Director Entrance Examination, at Anna University, had serious reservations. "It may not be on a sound legal footing because of the Supreme Court's ruling. The Tamil Nadu Professional Courses Entrance Examinations have been a stable test since 1984, especially in making the fine difference between the good and the best, which becomes critical for medical seats and for seats in Anna University," he argues.

Advocate K. Selvaraj finds the new policy "on sound legal footing." Both in the T.M.A. Pai and Islamic Academy cases, he says, the Supreme Court has mandated that all admissions should be based only on merit. That can be done either through the qualifying marks or an entrance test or a combination of both. The decision is left to the State Government and that is how Maharashtra does not have an entrance examination.

Mr. Ramadoss said the proposed protest on Tuesday, which the alliance parties had come forward to support and endorse, had now become redundant. He recalled how the PMK launched an agitation for special reservation for "Most Backward Classes" and won it in 1989. The party would press on with the demand to restore the reservation for rural students.

Mr. Vasan said "good sense has prevailed and the decision will help students in rural areas to get admission to professional courses."

Fate of CBSE students

One of the major concerns voiced by students and parents alike relates to the "fate" of the students from the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) schools. "We do not get centum in four subjects and cannot even dream of getting into medical colleges if admissions are based only on Plus Two marks," says Hemamalini, tears welling in her eyes. The entrance test provided CBSE students an opportunity to catch up with their counterparts from the State board. Her father hoped that Anna University would device a method to "level" the scores in a scientific manner as was done in some institutions.

Education analyst Jayaprakash Gandhi has raised other concerns as well. "What will happen to the 2000-odd students who took the entrance test this year alone for improvement?. They had good scores in Plus Two. Will they be considered alongside students who passed out this year?" he asks.

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