CHENNAI: Protests broke out across Tamil Nadu, a day after a teenaged Dalit student committed suicide allegedly for not getting an admission into a medical college. S Anitha, who had fought against the common entrance exam for medical colleges in the Supreme Court, had scored 1,176 marks out of 1,200 in her board exams in Tamil Nadu, but failed to perform well in the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET).
Daughter of a daily wage labourer, she was found hanging in her home in Ariyalur district, 300 km from capital Chennai. Over 1,500 workers from different opposition groups shouted slogans and protested at five different places in Chennai. They targeted the AIADMK in the state and the BJP in the Centre for their failure in exempting NEET for medical admission. As many as 300 workers of CPM were detained by the police for blocking the famous Anna Salai road in Chennai.
The Supreme Court had ordered all medical colleges across the country to use NEET to decide admissions. With over 40 medical colleges, Tamil Nadu said its students are at a disadvantage while taking the test alleging it seemed more apt for students who study in CBSE schools, and punishes poor and rural students who cannot afford private tuition classes needed to score high. While the SC exempted the state from NEET last year, it refused a request to continue the exemption this year.
The Ventre said that if the Tamil Nadu government was to issue an ordinance or executive order that would effectively circumvent NEET, it would back the move. However, last week it changed its stance and ordered Tamil Nadu to use NEET as its sole criterion for admissions. Opposition parties have joined in the fight. DMK leader MK Stalin promised to take the fight against NEET forward. “DMK will align with like-minded forces to uphold the key Dravidian policy of social justice, retrieve the rights of the state, bring education under the State List and ensure nobody else suffers Anitha's fate in Tamil Nadu,” he said in a letter.
