Madras HC upholds Tamil Nadu's 7.5 pc reservation to govt school students in medical courses
Apr 07, 2022
Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], April 7 : Madras High Court on Thursday upholds a 7.5 per cent reservation by Tamil Nadu Government to students from government schools in admission for medical courses.
A bench of Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy gave the verdict while directing the state government to review the quota in five years.
"We direct the state government to review the same in a period of five years as recommended by the commission and during the intervening period, steps may be taken to improve the standard of education in government schools so that the reservation may not be further extended beyond five years," the court said.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin termed the judgment historic and a form of social justice.
"The judgement is a huge victory as the quota will provide a level playing field for medical aspirants from the economically weaker sections,' Stalin said.
"Following medical education, when we came to power, we gave reservations to public school students in vocational courses! We charge tuition and accommodation fees! The High Court judgment Social Justice has shown that our every step in the journey is solid!" he tweeted.
In August 2021, the Tamil Nadu government moved a bill reserving 7.5% of seats for government school students for admission to undergraduate professional courses in engineering, law, agriculture and others in all private and government colleges and universities. Stalin introduced the bill in the legislative assembly and said that the government has taken action to bring equality between the students of public and private schools.