Madras High Court Upholds 7.5% Reservation For Government School Students in Medical Colleges of Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu Medical Colleges: As per the recent updates, the Madras High Court passed an order to reserve 7.5 percent quota for government school students in medical admissions in Tamil Nadu. The bench comprised Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy. Earlier, the Tamil Nadu government had announced 7.5% reservation for medical aspirants who studied in state-run schools from classes 6th to 12th.

Chief Minister M K Stalin welcomed the order and called the quota a form of social justice. However, the high court also directed the state government to review the quota in five years, as was suggested by an expert committee that recommended the quota for government school students in medical admissions. 

Bridging the Gap Between the Rural-Urban and Rich-Poor Sections in Medical Admission

The state government, during the hearing, said the quota was meant to bridge the gap between the rural-urban and rich-poor sections in medical admissions and that the state has is empowered and competent enough to bring in such institutional preferences. The state had said the move was to help deserving students from the underprivileged and marginalised sections of society to get into medical courses. 

The Government School Bill

Under the Government Schools Bill 2020, a 7.5% horizontal quota is provided for government school students who qualify in NEET for admissions to undergraduate medical courses such as Undergraduate Courses in Medicine, Dentistry, Indian Medicine, and Homeopathy. While those who studied from classes 6 to 12 in the government schools are eligible for the quota. 

However, the classification of ‘government school’ is not applicable for government-aided schools but all other government-run schools such as panchayat union schools, Adi-Dravidar welfare schools, municipal, corporation and tribal welfare schools. 

Challenging the Constitutional Validity of the Quota

On the other hand, the petitioners challenging the constitutional validity of the quota stated that students in the general category were at a disadvantage as Tamil Nadu already has a 69% reservation policy. Only 31% of the seats in medical admissions were available to general category students, and that has reduced further with the 7.5% reservation. 

The court, while ruling in favour of the reservation, also urged the state government to ensure that the quota is examined in five years, as suggested by the reservation committee. 

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