Chennai, Nov 4 (BPNS )
While the DMK and its allies in Tamil Nadu have been on a campaign that the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) would lead to destruction of medical education in Tamil Nadu as it does not favours government school students, students of government schools, and government-aided schools have improved their performance much beyond expectations.
In Madurai district alone 88 students from government schools qualified by clearing the NEET and according to teachers and students of the area, this was due to the students attending e-box training classes conducted by the school education department.
Chief Educational Officer of Madurai district, R. Swaminathan while speaking to BPNS said, “E-box training of the school education department for entrance examinations was attended by 508 students of government school and government-aided schools. We conducted three model examinations and this has helped the confidence of the students in taking NEET.”
In Madurai, while 21 students from government schools qualified NEET and got admissions through 7.5% reservation while around 55 students, more than double, the students are eligible to get admission for medicine.
The district education department claimed that this would increase to 60 once the data of the NEET repeaters is also released.
Almost all districts of Tamil Nadu have shown a marked improvement in the performance of government school students and many of the students said that they could understand the intricacies of the examination.
Soubagyalakshmi, a student of Government school in Kanniyakumari while speaking to BPNS said, “I have scored 414 marks in NEET and is eligible for admission to MBBS under the 7.5% internal reservation for government school students. This is made possible due to the coaching extended by the school education department and my teachers. I was told to study and revise chapters in Physics, Chemistry, and Biology of Class 11 and Class 12.”
Several students from impoverished backgrounds have also cracked the NEET exam in 2021. Hailing from a poor background and supported by a differently-abled mother, Radhakrishnan, a student from MGR Colony, Athu Pollachi in Coimbatore district cracked the NEET 2021 scoring 406 marks and is expected to join a government medical college under ST quota.
Radhakrishnan while speaking to BPNS said, “ I was supported by a private institute in Coimbatore under nominal fee and I could crack the exam and is expected to join a government medical college under the ST quota”.
Dindigul, Tirunelveli, Theni, Kanniyakumari districts of South Tamil Nadu also saw huge improvement in the performance of government school students in NEET.
The district educational officers of these districts said that the government school students have performed extremely well and more than double the number of students than the previous NEET exam has qualified in the exam.
