NEET state-wise marks delay puts students in a fix

Amrutha Varshinii

Chennai:





Twenty days after NEET (National Eligibilitycum-Entrance Exam) results were announced and CBSE on Wednesday had yet to release the state-wise breakup of marks. With just a week left to medical counselling in Tamil Nadu, this left students in a quandary , with no idea about the cut-offs or where they stood among the 32,570 qualifiers.

 

The state announced it will reserve 85% of seats for state board candidates, but students like Chennai resident Santhosh G, who scored around 300 marks, are in the dark.

“I'm confident that I'll qualify for admission but not if I can get a government college seat,“ he said. “If I don't qualify, I have to arrange money for a private college. The process has been stressful, especially for those in the 200-300 mark range, as we can't even size up the competition.“
Several others would rather join a reputed engineering college than wait and settle for a low-tier medical college.

A minuscule few, like Arun Kumar, can breathe easy . Having scored 600-plus, he quali fies for all-India counselling despite it being limited to 15% of the available seats. But Arun said most of his friends are anxious ahead of the counselling on July 17.

Neither CBSE nor MCI has published results on a public portal, and the TN health and education departments have been unable to furnish details.

“We are yet to get details on cut-offs and how many students are in various mark ranges,“ an official said.