A 17-year-old S. Anitha from Tamil Nadu's Ariyalur district committed suicide on Friday after failing in her National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET). A daily wage earner’s daughter Anitha got 86 marks out of 700 even after achieving exceedingly well in class-12, medical exam and engineering exam. She was one of the participants in a case in the Supreme Court for exemption of the NEET exam.
A par excellence student, Anitha succumbed to the shock of failure and committed suicide.
Anitha had scored 1,176 out of 1,200 marks in her Class XII State Board examinations and since this year SC ordered TN government to only give admission to those who clear the NEET exam, Anitha couldn't get through. She secured full marks in Physics and Mathematics, 199 in Chemistry and 194 in Biology.
Until a year ago, the cut-off for scheduled-caste students was only 191.25. This meant that she would have got the seat if NEET had not been made compulsory for students to get into MBBS. Impleading in front of the SC, she said that she cannot afford the coaching required for NEET exam as it is totally based on the CBSE syllabus.
‘Her dream had crumbled’
“I want to be a doctor and I will be assured of a seat if the admission is based on Plus Two marks,” she had earlier told journalists from The Hindu.
“The girl looked worried for the past one week although she did not express her emotions. Anitha was a very soft-natured girl and was always very calm”
“Her dream had crumbled and Anitha took the extreme step dejected over failing to secure a medical seat because of NEET. Her father and brothers supported the girl to the hilt to realise her ambition, but everything has gone waste,” said a sobbing S. Bhuvaneswari, the girl’s niece, also residing at Kuzhumur village.
She added, “The girl looked worried for the past one week although she did not express her emotions. Anitha was a very soft-natured girl and was always very calm,” adding that the government should at least now exempt the state from NEET.
Politics of NEET exemption
AIADMK chief EK Pallaniswamy offered the girl’s family ₹7 lakh from the CM’s Relief Fund. He also consoled them with a job offer to any one of the family members.
On August 22 this year, SC directed the TN government to start admission in medical based on the NEET results. It came after Centre rejected TN’s plea of exemption for one year.
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However, during Jayalalitha’s rule, she consistently kept getting exemptions. But as the party was struggling to stay put, securing exemption took a back seat for the government. Though, Tamil Nadu Health Minister Vijayabhaskar and Chief Minister EK Palaniswami visited the capital a few times to seek PM’s approval. Also the apex court ordered that only students passing NEET exam will secure admission in medical.
"She got 1176 in plus-2 and good cut-off marks too. But NEET exam shattered her dreams. She even approached the Supreme Court"-Stalin
DMK chief MK Stalin criticised the AIADMK govt. for its mishandling of the issue.
"She got 1176 in plus-2 and good cut-off marks too. But NEET shattered her dreams. She even approached the Supreme Court. She also met me and asked to raise the matter in the Assembly. I raised the issue in the Assembly the very next day. Unfortunately, she killed herself," said Stalin, India Today reports.
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