NEET aspirant dies by suicide over failure to clear exam in TN: Cops

SALEM: Depressed over securing low marks in the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET), a 20-year old medical aspirant allegedly died by suicide in the district, police said.

The student had appeared for NEET, the results of which were announced four days back, and had scored fewer marks in it.

Dejected over the inability to clear the entrance exam, he allegedly consumed pesticides on November 2. His parents noticed him struggling in bed and took him to a nearest government hospital.

As his condition was said to be serious, he was referred to a private hospital in Salem for further treatment, they said. However, the boy succumbed on Saturday around 3.30am.

His body was taken to a government hospital for postmortem, where a large number of relatives gathered, leading to tense moments.

The state has already witnessed alleged suicides of some medical aspirants who had appeared for NEET. Expressing anguish over the medical aspirant’s death, AIADMK top leader K Palaniswami extended his sympathies with the family of the deceased.

In a tweet, the Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly also appealed to students to not resort to such “wrong” steps.

Tamil Nadu seeks to go back to the pre-2017 methods where only class 12-board exam marks were used as criteria for admission. The DMK, after coming to power in May, with one of its poll promises being the scrapping of NEET, formed the justice AK Rajan committee comprising nine members, including the state Health Secretary, Director of Medical Education. The committee had worked for a month to examine the impact of NEET on social and economically backward students.

On October 4, Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin wrote to his counterparts in 11 non-BJP ruled states and Goa, seeking their support to oppose the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test and restore “the primacy of states” in education, the government said on Monday. Also, Stalin has deputed his party MPs to reach out to the heads of such states to drum up support. In a letter to his counterparts, the Chief Minister reiterated his government’s opposition to NEET.

(If you need support or know someone who does, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist.) Helplines: Aasra: 022 2754 6669; Sneha India Foundation: +914424640050 and Sanjivini: 01124311918