NEET a 'scam', goes against students, social justice and poor; Centre must not defend it: TN CM
Chennai (PTI): NEET, 'masquerading' as a measure of merit, is a 'scam' and the Centre must stop defending the national test as it went against the interests of students and it is also against social justice and poor, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said on Sunday.
Stalin, also the president of the ruling DMK said in a post on X: "The ongoing controversies around #NEET highlight its fundamentally inequitable nature. In a society where education has been denied for thousands of years, we should offer more opportunities for advancement of the oppressed. On the contrary, NEET hinders the opportunities of such students."
He said: "Despite the Union Education Minister's defense of the National Testing Agency (NTA), recent events paint a different picture. The Gujarat Police have registered an FIR over allegations of invigilators tampering with OMR sheets in exchange for monetary benefits, involving cheques worth several crore rupees and eight blank cheques. This conspiracy, implicating a school principal, a physics teacher, and several NEET coaching centres, underscores the urgent need for systemic change."
Furthermore, the CM said, "from martyr Anitha to the countless students who have tragically taken their own lives, we have witnessed enough. NEET, an examination masquerading as a measure of merit, has repeatedly revealed itself as a pervasive scam affecting all levels of society. The union government must stop defending this anti-student, anti-social justice, and anti-poor NEET system."
S Anitha, a Scheduled Caste Tamil girl, who knocked on the doors of the court to chase her dream to pursue a course in medicine ended her life in 2017. She is regarded as a crusader for justice by champions of social justice and mainstream political parties in Tamil Nadu.
The Kerala Congress on its twitter handle said: "This is the marks card of Anitha, a Dalit girl from Tamil Nadu's Ariyalur district who got 1176/1200 (98%) in her 12th standard but died by suicide after her fight against NEET failed after the Supreme Court dismissed her pleas. Today, when you see candidates who failed in Physics and Chemistry score 705/720 in NEET, you realise how unfair and one-sided the system is. Anitha is a martyr in this fight."
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Maharashtra completes over 66 pc pre-SIR mapping; urban areas lag
Mumbai (PTI): Maharashtra has completed 66.42 per cent pre-Special Intensive Revision (SIR) mapping work, with Gadchiroli recording 90.51 per cent completion, the highest in the state, officials said on Tuesday.
Urban areas in Maharashtra are lagging in this exercise as Mumbai Suburban, Pune and Thane registered less than 50 per cent progress, they said, citing data from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO).
Fourteen districts have completed between 80 and 90 per cent of the mapping work, while 13 districts have achieved 70 to 80 per cent progress. Districts with lower progress include Mumbai city (51.40 per cent), Nagpur (55.57 per cent), Raigad (57.80 per cent) and Palghar (59.28 per cent).
"The urban areas are lagging in the pre-SIR work due to migration of population and an increase in the number of booths following population growth," the official said.
The districts in the 80 to 90 per cent category include Washim (80.76), Latur (80.77), Sangli (81.65), Amravati (81.90), Nandurbar (83.32), Nanded (84.06), Gondia (84.32), Dharashiv (84.62), Parbhani (85.27), Beed (85.31), Buldhana (85.97), Sindhudurg (86.47), Ratnagiri (86.70) and Hingoli (89.08).
As per the data, out of 9.88 crore voters, around 6.56 crore have been mapped so far. The pre-SIR exercise involves Block Level Officers checking the current electoral roll against the voter list prepared in 2002 by the Election Commission.
Names of current voters must be present in the 2002 list to pass scrutiny. Officials are currently matching the two electoral rolls, and this is not a physical verification exercise at present. Young voters, whose names are not in the 2002 list, will have to establish that their parents' names were included in that list.
"We are yet to receive the detailed programme for the physical phase of the SIR. Till then, we will continue mapping the electoral rolls. Until details of the ground exercise are announced, it would be premature to comment on deadlines or proof requirements. Our intention is to minimise inconvenience to voters," the official said.
