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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Drug addiction sign of mental illness, says DC Mullai Muhilan
Mangaluru: Drug addiction is a sign of mental illness and there is a critical need for awareness among students, stated Deputy Commissioner (DC) Mullai Muhilan at the ‘Drugs Free India’ awareness program. Organized by the Counseling Department of St. Aloysius PU College in collaboration with the District Administration, Mangaluru Police Commissionerate, Indian Coast Guard, and the Customs Commissionerate, the event took place on Tuesday.
Delivering the keynote address, DC Mullai Muhilan emphasized the importance of counseling centers in every school to educate students about the dangers of drug addiction. He highlighted the correlation between the increasing number of educational institutions in Dakshina Kannada District and the rising supply and demand for narcotic drugs. He stressed the need for continuous efforts to dismantle the supply chain of narcotics and initiatives to curb the demand through systematic education.
“Anti-drug units have been established in 528 colleges across the district. These units operate with utmost confidentiality, allowing students to report information about drug supply and abuse, thereby preventing their peers from falling into the trap of addiction,” Muhilan said.
Police Commissioner Anupam Agrawal reported that over 500 cases related to drug supply and abuse had been registered in the past six months, with 400 cases pertaining specifically to drug abuse. He noted that many complaints came from mothers about the deteriorating behavior and habits of their children. Agrawal stressed the importance of self-awareness among students to avoid drug addiction and urged them to stay away from narcotics.
Mangaluru Customs Commissioner P Vinitha Shekhar described narcotics as a ‘social menace’ and explained the customs department’s role in search and destroy operations in accordance with the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. She highlighted India's vulnerability to drug trafficking due to its proximity to opium-producing countries like Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran. She also pointed out the link between drug supply networks and the funding of terrorist organizations.
District Coast Guard Centre DIG P K Mishra, through an illustrative story, encouraged students to contribute to society by reporting unusual behavior in their friends and peers that might indicate drug abuse.
Fr. Clifford Sequeira, Principal of St. Aloysius PU College, and Dr. B K Kiran Kumar from the Department of Psychology at the Institute of Medical Sciences were also present at the event.
