Omar Abdullah Calls for States to Regain Control of NEET, JEE
J&K Chief Minister says centralisation of examinations has weakened federalism and urges restoration of states’ powers
- Omar Abdullah criticised the Centre’s role in conducting NEET and JEE.
- He argued that education and health fall within the states’ domain.
- Abdullah called for stronger federalism and restoration of powers under the State List.
- His remarks came during an Independence Day event at Srinagar’s Bakshi Stadium.
GG News Bureau
Srinagar, 15th Aug: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has called on the Centre to return greater control over competitive examinations such as NEET and JEE to the states, arguing that the centralisation of examinations has raised concerns about India’s federal structure.
Addressing an Independence Day event at Bakshi Stadium in Srinagar on Friday, Abdullah said education and health fall under the State List and argued that examinations previously conducted by individual states have increasingly come under central control.
“The recent student protests were essentially due to overreach of the central government in matters falling under the state list. Education and health falls under the state list. All the exams that were held by the states earlier have been brought under central control through NEET and JEE,” Abdullah said.
The Chief Minister said the Centre should retain control of examinations for national institutions such as the IITs and IIMs, while other examinations should be handled in accordance with the federal structure.
Abdullah called for the restoration of powers falling under the State List “in the true spirit of federalism”, stressing that democracy and federalism are fundamental pillars of the Constitution.
“It’s not the question of restoring our statehood and special status alone, all matters that fall under the state list must be restored to all the states,” he said, adding that protecting democratic institutions and strengthening the federal structure was a collective responsibility.
His remarks come amid months of student protests over alleged irregularities in major competitive examinations. The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) began a protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on June 6, demanding the resignation of then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged irregularities in NEET and other examinations.
Pradhan subsequently resigned as Education Minister on July 25 amid the protests and concerns surrounding examination integrity.
Abdullah’s comments add a federalism dimension to the ongoing debate over the administration of national-level examinations, with the J&K Chief Minister arguing that greater decentralisation would strengthen the constitutional balance between the Centre and the states.
