Chennai, July 8: Left with no option after a Supreme Court ruling, the Jayalalithaa government today restored the system of taking both the Common Entrance Test (CET) score and the Plus Two marks into account for admission to professional courses in Tamil Nadu.

The apex court had recently refused to stay Madras High Court’s ruling quashing the Tamil Nadu order that abolished the CET. It also directed the state to continue with the existing system this academic year (2005-06) till a seven-member bench of the apex court decides on aspects of admission to professional courses.

“The government has, at the moment, little choice but to follow the orders of the Supreme Court and the high court,” Jayalalithaa said in a statement here today.

This implied that students who had sat for Improvement Tests, after their Plus Two examinations, would also be allowed to apply on the basis of their new marks and their performance in the CET, she said.

But Jayalalithaa made it clear that her government was firm in its objective of ensuring a better deal for rural students aspiring to get admission to professional courses.

She said other alternatives would be explored in consultation with all concerned so that “from the next academic year, a suitable system which supports rural students is implemented”.