Amidst the blazing heat, women line up the streets offering 'mor' (buttermilk), water, local snacks while supporters wait for a glimpse of their 'mother' AIADMK chief at an election rally in Tirunelveli.
The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Monday opposed in Rajya Sabha the government move to put in place a single examination for medical and dental courses through National Eligibility cum Entrance Test
The Madras high court on Tuesday dismissed a public interest litigation challenging the Tamil Nadu government constituting a panel on the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), saying it was not contrary to the orders of the Supreme Court on the matter.
Now candidates can appear for NEET any number of times.
Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit has given his assent to a Bill envisaging 7.5 per cent reservation to government school students who have cleared the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test in admission to medical courses.
While the start may have been rocky, with renewed syllabus and coaching, students and teachers are largely in favour of the exam.
This roadmap will benefit nearly 13 lakh students who have registered for the medical entrance exam this year.
'You must understand that NEET is in its infantile stage.' 'When a child falls down while trying to stand up, you don't say it will never walk or run.' 'The child that falls down several times while trying to stand up may one day run a race at the Olympics.' 'Similarly, if there is firmness in approach and the willingness to listen to suggestions, NEET will be a great success.'
The National Testing Agency announced that the JEE (Main) will be held from September 1 to 6 and NEET (UG) on September 13 after the Supreme Court dismissed a petition seeking the postponement of the NEET and JEE.
Reaching India in time to be able to complete the mandatory quarantine period before the exam, arranging a stay before taking a flight back home, additional expenses, the risk of contracting COVID-19 and being quarantined again back home, are among several concerns on the mind of the aspirants.
Stalin claimed that in a few months political change will take place and then the NEET barriers will come crashing down.
She left behind a note, saying that she dreamt of becoming a doctor but the questions in NEET were too difficult for her to even understand.
Earlier, a row erupted after Surya said the court functioned virtually, but asked students to appear for NEET, prompting a Madras high court judge and an advocates associaton to seek contempt action against him, while six former judges took a stand against it.
Justice K Ravichandrababu held that the impugned reservation was bad in law and violated Article 14 of the Constitution (Equality before law).
The Tamil Nadu assembly on Tuesday once again adopted the anti-NEET Bill, returned days ago to the government by Governor RN Ravi, with the ruling Dravida Munentra Kazhagam and principal opposition All India Anna DK reaffirming their opposition to the test.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday said he has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide additional doses of COVID-19 vaccine to the state.
The issue, which has been a matter of intense public discourse for past few months, has evoked contrasting views with many backing the holding of the tests fearing that it may lead to a zero academic year for students, and the Opposition and activists demanding their postponement in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The suicides have involved more NEET aspirants than JEE. 'It's a make-or-mar situation.' 'Either you get into a government medical college, where the fee is much lower than in private institutes, or you don't make it.'
The advisory was issued as thousands of Indians studying in Chinese medical colleges are currently stuck at home for over two years due to Beijing's COVID visa ban.
His career as a bureaucrat has been somewhat colourless, which suggests his current elevation is simply a matter of being at the right place at the right time.
The deaths brought back the focus on NEET in the state, with all political parties but for the BJP opposed to the qualifying exam.
The party unanimously elected veteran Duraimurugan as general secretary and senior leader T R Baalu as treasurer. Former Telecom Minister A Raja and seasoned party leader K Ponmudi were elected as deputy general secretaries.
'Further delay will do nothing other than the loss of a year and when there is loss of a year, think of next year you are having two first year batches.' 'Have the IIT system or similar institutions got the infrastructure to handle such a situation?'
Hours before he was to appear for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for a third time, a 19-year old youth belonging to a village near Salem died by suicide on Sunday, fearing the outcome of the test he was to take.
Noting that over 17 lakh out of nearly 25 lakh candidates have already downloaded admit cards for the medical and engineering entrance exams, Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' said his ministry has been receiving e-mails from students and parents that these exams should not be further postponed.
'The Ayush minister (Shripad Yesso Naik) himself was suffering from COVID-19 and got treated in a modern hospital.'
Dealing with the validity of OBC quota, the bench said, "Merit cannot be reduced to narrow definitions of performance in an open competitive examination which only provides formal equality of opportunity. Competitive examinations assess basic current competency to allocate educational resources but are not reflective of excellence, capabilities and potential of an individual which are also shaped by lived experiences, subsequent training and individual character."
"You cannot just pick Rs 8 lakh out of the thin air and fix it as a criteria. There has to be some basis, some study. Tell us whether any demographic study or data was taken into account in fixing the limit. How do you arrive at this exact figure? Can the Supreme Court strike down the criteria, if no study was undertaken?" the Supreme Court asked.
25 student suicides in 2023 at India's coaching hub Kota have revealed the mindboggling stress children confront every day, reports Prakash Bhandari.
Factionalism between OP Panneerselvam and Edappadi Palaniswami, the dominance of the BJP, the ruling DMK having a strong face in the form of CM Stalin, 'community and region-based politics', corruption charges against former ministers, and lack of a proper ideology are the major challenges the party is facing in the state.
The review plea has been filed by ministers from West Bengal (Moloy Ghatak), Jharkhand (Rameshwar Oraon), Rajasthan (Raghu Sharma), Chhattisgarh (Amarjeet Bhagat), Punjab (B S Sidhu) and Maharashtra (Uday Ravindra Sawant).
Clearly, all of the NEET coaching classes are beyond the capacity of a child from a BPL family.
Dominic Xavier offers his take on Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin's decision to dispense with the National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test (NEET) and provide for admission to medical courses based on Class 12 marks to ensure social justice.
While online coaching has become a big hit during the lockdown, the path ahead is not easy, reports Rupesh Dutta.
The bench said that the only question is that determination of the category should be in a scientific manner and it appreciates that the Centre has taken a decision to revisit the criteria earlier fixed.
The Congress and various opposition parties have demanded that NEET and JEE examinations be deferred due to the COVID-19 pandemic and floods in parts of the country, even as the Union government has made it clear that they will be held as per schedule with due precautions.
The apex court order comes as a relief for 12 lakh medical aspirants who had given the exam.
'More than 1,000 start-ups are created from colleges, and more start-ups are coming up every year.'
The Congress unit described Ramesh's suicide an outcome of "targeted harassment" of their rank and cadre to keep them away from the party.
There was high drama before the commencement of National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for medical and dental courses, at various centres across Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Salem, Tiruchirapalli, Namakkal, Tirunelveli and Vellore when students were frisked and some were asked to cut off their sleeves, while a few female students were asked to remove their bras!
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