Amid growing discontent among Tamil Nadu's student against CBSE for not able to allocate NEET 2018 examination centres in the state, politicians and movie stars have come forward to help students who need accommodation and route guidance to the exam centres. Hundreds of Tamil Nadu students have been allocated test centres in Kerala to appear for the NEET 2018 exam.
The Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) led by T.T.V. Dinakaran on Friday announced that it will help National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) aspirants from Tamil Nadu who have been allotted exam centres in neighbouring Kerala. Dinakaran said the AMMK has made arrangements for Tamil Nadu students who need accommodation and route guidance to the exam centres, reported IANS.
In a statement, Dinakaran — the nephew of now jailed former AIADMK General Secretary V.K. Sasikala — claimed that the action of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) with respect to the NEET was a “reflection of the central government's anti-Tamil Nadu attitude”. The AMMK leader said several hundred medical college aspirants from Tamil Nadu have been allotted centres in states like Kerala and even Rajasthan.
On the other hand, actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan also criticised the state government, saying, “In this digital age, expecting Tamil Nadu students to travel to Kerala and Rajasthan for NEET exam is not fair. The government should felicitate taking exams in the state.”
Hindu reported, DMK leader MK Stalin also criticised the Centre for not making necessary arrangements so that all students from Tamil Nadu could write the NEET in centres within the state. According to the report, Stalin said in a statement that “the Central government was not taking the interests of the students from Tamil Nadu into consideration and was causing unnecessary confusion.”
NEET 2018 is scheduled to be held on May 6 and over 12 lakh candidates have registered for the entrance exam. On the other hand, giving big jolt to National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) aspirants from Tamil Nadu, the Supreme Court stayed a Madras High Court direction that asked CBSE to set up more centres in the state.
As a result, hundreds of TN students will now have to travel to Kerala to appear for the NEET UG exam. The top court accepted CBSE's plea that new exam centres cannot be established at such short notice.
Stressed-out, parents complain that travelling to the exam centres by bus or train will be a nightmare due to ongoing summer vacations, because of which no tickets are available.
In another case, the Delhi High Court on Thursday allowed a plea moved by Sikh students seeking permission to wear traditional `kada` and `kirpan` inside the exam hall in the upcoming NEET exam. “Ask those in traditional attire to come an hour early,” a bench of Justice S. Ravindra Bhat and Justice A.K. Chawla told the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) which conducts the pan-India examination.
The court order came on a plea by the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee who argued that Sikh students cannot be barred from carrying traditional attire in the examination hall.
