Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday assured the students that the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) will be scrapped, days after a 19-year-old MBBS aspirant from Chennai ended his life after failing to secure a seat in the NEET.
“I appeal that no student should ever make a decision to take away their own lives under any circumstances. The NEET, which is a hurdle for your growth, will be scrapped. The state government is actively working on the legal initiative in this direction,” Stalin said in the statement.
The 19-year-old medical aspirant died by suicide in Chennai after he failed to clear the NEET exam twice. A day later, his father also died by suicide on Monday.
CM Stalin condoled the suicidal deaths of father and son. “I offer my deepest condolences on the demise of student Jagatheeswaran and his father Selvasekhar (who also allegedly died by suicide). Let their deaths be the last on the altar of NEET.”
Taking a jibe at Governor RN Ravi, Stalin claimed that the NEET barrier will come crashing down in a few months when political changes take place.
“Then, all those who say ‘I will not sign’ will disappear,” he said, apparently referring to Governor RN Ravi’s remarks against the state’s anti-NEET bill.
Before his death, Selvasekar had told ANI on Sunday that, “After he failed in NEET exam twice, we admitted him again in a coaching institute for repeating the exam. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said in his manifesto that he would save children’s lives and cancel the NEET exam but yet, they did not ban this exam. I am a single parent; nobody should face this situation. The CM should take immediate steps.”
