NEET to be held in more TN districts

NEET to be held in more TN districts

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

16.07.2021 

National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) 2021 will be aditionally held in Chengalpet, Virudhunagar, Dindigul and Tirupur districts, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said. NEET this year will be held in 18 TN districts against 14 in 2020.

Health minister Ma Subramanian, who met Pradhan in Delhi on Thursday seeking exemption from NEET for Tamil Nadu, said the Centre promised to consider TN’s demand. “We presented all problems including disadvantages for students in rural areas, the difference between CBSE and state board syllabus and people’s sentiments against the test. We also handed over the recommendation of the AK Rajan committee.”

The state has urged the Centre to cancel all national level exams like NEET as it did with CBSE boards. During his maiden visit to Delhi, Subramanian called on Pradhan and health minister Mansukh Mandaviya.

In June, TN constituted a committee headed by retired high court judge AK Rajan to study the impact of NEET. After submitting the report on Wednesday, Justice Rajan said most people did not want NEET. “We also told him that at least 13 students who could not get MBBS seats ended their lives. The education minister understood our concerns. He told us there were similar concerns in his state Odisha as well. The state will make all efforts to get exemptions from the entrance,” he said.

Minutes after the meeting, Pradhan tweeted that he had told Subramanian the Centre will add more NEET centres in Tamil Nadu. " Also, shared with him that to cater to regional aspirations, the number of languages being offered this year have been increased to 11 from 13 with the addition of Malayalam and Punjabi. The exam is already being conducted in the Tamil language,” he tweeted.