"We want the NEET to be abolished": DMK's Kanimozhi

New Delhi [India], June 27 : Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP K Kanimozhi on Thursday reiterated the demand to "exempt" Tamil Nadu from the National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test (NEET) conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for medical admissions across the country.
"Tamil Nadu has been consistently saying that we do not want NEET. Now it is proved that NEET is not a fair examination and students are losing so much because of NEET," Kanimozhi told ANI in Delhi.
She said that the state assembly passed a resolution to scrap the national-level entrance exam and also "exempt" the state from the same.
"We want the NEET to be abolished. We have passed a resolution in our Assembly and it is still pending with the President for signature," Kanimozhi said.
The DMK MP further said that the lives of the students are affected while waiting for the President's approval.
DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran reiterated the party's demand and referred to NEET as the "biggest fraud" and said, "Today we have a minority BJP government now. They realise that they have to follow the Constitution. The opposition will ensure that the Constitution is followed."
"In TN, we have been saying we don't need NEET. Why are you punishing our students? In Kota, why are so many students committing suicide?," Maran asked.
Earlier this week, DMK leader TKS Elangovan said that his party has demanded to scrap NEET as he alleged that the entrance examination favours the rich and is riddled with "fraud."
"We want the NEET exam to be abolished. Whoever gets good marks in school, should be given admission to professional colleges. Why is there any need for NEET? If there is a NEET, then there is fraud," Elangovan told ANI on June 23.
Amid the row over the NEET-UG and UGC-NET exams, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday registered a criminal case over the alleged irregularities in the conduct of the examination by the NTA and formed special teams to probe the matter.
As per the agency's FIR, certain "isolated incidents" occurred in a few states during the conduct of the NEET (UG) 2024 examination, which was held on May 5, 2024.
The NEET (UG) 2024 Examination was conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on May 5, at 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 cities abroad, with over 23 lakh candidates appearing for the examination.
An unprecedented 67 candidates achieved a perfect score of 720 marks out of 720, which led to widespread protests in the country.
The Ministry of Education said it has constituted a high-level committee of experts to make recommendations on reforms in the mechanism of the examination process, improvements in data security protocols and the functioning of the NTA.