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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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
