Over 1.1 lakh from TN to appear for NEET today

CHENNAI: Over 1.1 lakh aspirants from will appear for National Eligibility cum Entrance Examination (NEET) on Sunday. This includes 70,594 female students, 40,376 male students and one transperson.

Officials from the Directorate of Medical Education said the number of exam centres have been increased to ensure that there is no overcrowding and that all other safety regulations are being followed. In Chennai, 33 testing centres have been allotted for 17,996 NEET aspirants.

Officials said exam coordinators have been instructed to ensure adherence to the safety protocols pertaining to COVID-19. In all, 18 cities have been allotted 224 centres for the examination.

The number of students applying for the qualifying exam in 2021 has come down when compared to previous years. In 2020, 1.21 lakh students had applied for NEET, which fell to around 1.4 lakh aspirants for the exam in 2019.

Health Minister Ma Subramanian said on Saturday that the restrictions for students led to chaos at examination centres last year. “However, we will ensure that the issues of the students are being taken care of and some relaxations have been also granted,” he said.

“We are trying to ensure that the State gets exemption from NEET next year. Chief Minister MK Stalin has discussed the issue with the Union Ministers; we hope that students don’t have to appear for the NEET examination next year in Tamil Nadu, “said the Health Minister.