Monday, June 6 2005 16:56 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Government today (Jun 6, 2005) abolished the Common Entrance Examination (CEE) for admission to undergraduate professional courses from the 2005-06 academic year and said as per its new policy, admissions would be on the basis of marks obtained in the plus two examination and on the rule of reservations.

Stating that the CEE had become a traumatic experience for parents and children as it appeared to determine at one stroke the future of a child, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, in a statement in Chennai, said students from rural areas were affected in particular as the examination worked against their chances of securing admissions to professional colleges.

Claiming that CEE encouraged a pernicious system of 'teaching shops' oriented towards ensuring higher marks for urban students, she said, "If the plus two marks alone are relied upon, rural students would stand to get their due share in the admissions."

The new system has been announced in the wake of some Opposition parties, including the PMK (Pattali Makkal Katchi), demanding scrapping of the system in vogue since 1984-85 academic year.