Students in Tamil Nadu gear up for Neet

Chennai: With just a month to go for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Neet), the Central Government indicates that Tamil Nadu’s Act exempting its students from writing the test may not get the President’s assent, thereby, putting an end to the state’s efforts. However, a formal announcement is yet to be made.

The Central government, which feels it is unfair to grant exemption to a single state alone, has demanded that the Tamil Nadu government give a valid defence to the same.

Stating that parents should be mentally prepared to send the students for the test, highly placed sources said that if the state does miraculously get an exemption, there is the possibility that CBSE students can go to court.

“Any student, who understands the situation well, will know that he should prepare himself to write the test. One cannot be a serious medical candidate and not be prepared. It is however a positive factor that 88,000 students from the state have applied for the test,” said a source.

Despite many being aware that there is a high possibility for the state not to get exemption, as the dates for the exam are nearing, there are some others who continue to remain hopeful. “There is time until May 7 for the exam to be held. We therefore cannot state with surety that the state will not be exempted,” said Dr G.R. Ravindranath of the Doctors’ Association for Social Equality (DASE).

Exemption for postgraduate students has already been denied as the admission process and prospectus notification is already on based on the Neet. “We feel very bad about the present scenario as it is not only for MBBS students, but also for PG, and super speciality students. In super specialty, the state will lose 100 per cent of seats because of the common entrance test, which is a big blow to the state health system,” added Dr Ravindranath.  

Though the state has not given up its efforts to seek exemption, some medical colleges have complied with the Supreme Court verdict. “We have already complied with the Neet from last year. We used to take our candidates based on the Physics, Chemistry and Biology exam that we conduct. Now, the same is being conducted under the Neet. We have no philosophical objections to that,” said Dr Sunil Chandy, Director, Christian Medical College, Vellore.

“Tamil Nadu has a different issue in as they do not have an entrance exam. Their issues are therefore different and we can understand why it is important for the state. The problem in the variation of syllabus as the state board is very different from CBSE,” he added.

Dr Brahmanandam, Vice President, Medical Council of India, said the Centre has already said that Neet is mandatory and the President of India had given exemption only for one year. “Tamil Nadu must fall in line. All states must improve and the common entrance test will serve as a stepping-stone for the same. That way, the state students will be on par with the rest of the country in competing for intelligence,” he said. 

State students flocking to Thrissur for coaching

Thousands of students from Tamil Nadu are flocking to coaching centres in Thrissur in Kerala to prepare themselves for Neet this year.

“Thousands of students from the state went to the Chaitanya coaching centre in Thrissur for Neet coaching this year. But, many students are returning as the coaching centre was overcrowded and they could not get proper facilities,” said P. Swaminathan, secretary, SRV schools in Namakkal and Tiruchy districts.

Coaching institutes in Kerala are collecting Rs 30,000 for one-month crash course. Students have also spent money for stay and food.

“Most of the affluent students in Tamil Nadu are camping in Kerala for Neet. Some super schools in Namakkal have arranged separate coaching in their schools for their students. Many private schools are arranging the private coaching for their students to face the Neet exam,” said Sami.Sathyamoorthi, state president, Tamil Nadu High and Higher Secondary School Headmasters’ Association.