Rattled over NEET suicides, DMK govt. turns to damage control mode

Three NEET aspirants, including two girls, committing suicide in a week has put the ruling DMK in a fix forcing the government to engage in firefighting. The opposition AIADMK and the BJP have cornered Chief Minister MK Stalin reminding the DMK's poll promise of getting exemption from NEET for the state, writes ETV Bharat's M.C.Rajan.

Chennai:Even as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has launched a legal battle with the Centre to secure exemption from NEET for undergraduate medical admissions in the state, the suicide of three aspirants has come to haunt the ruling DMK. Since scrapping NEET for the state was a prime poll pledge of the DMK, this has given a convenient handle to the insipid opposition, comprising the AIADMK and the BJP, to target the government. Alarmed at the tide turning against it, the government had resorted to firefighting to contain the damage.

Making an emotional appeal to the students, Stalin in a video message said, “I beg of you, please do not end your lives. Nothing is impossible for you. Study with confidence. Your life is invaluable not just to your families but to the nation as well. The nation's future depends on your future.” Further, he urged parents, teachers, social workers and those in the film industry to instil and foster confidence and self-esteem in the children.

In the same breath, he blamed NEET for shattering the hopes of those aspiring to become doctors. But, a stone-hearted Union Government refuses to budge, he charged adding, “For generations, access to education was denied to many. At a time when that access was opening up, NEET was introduced to shut the doors once again.”

The first of the suicides, that of Dhanush of Salem district on September 12 had come as a major embarrassment to the government. For only the next day, Stalin piloted the Bill seeking exemption for NEET, which was passed in the Assembly. The student was to appear for his third attempt. The other two girls, Kanimozhi and Soundarya, had taken the extreme step after appearing in the examination.

Read:Class XII topper ends life over NEET

The present suicides have taken the NEET toll in the state to 16. The first to end her life was Anitha of Ariyalur district in 2017. She has taken her fight up to the Supreme Court.

In order to prevent further loss of lives, the government launched a massive round the clock tele-counselling through the 104 Medical Helpline to all the students who had appeared for NEET as well as the parents. Launching the service, State Health Minister M Subramanian said, “Over 330 psychological counsellors would be on service to provide counselling. They would call each and every student as well their parents. All the 1.10 lakh students who had taken NEET would be provided counselling to be confident and about other avenues for their growth.”

According to sources with the 104 helplines, nearly half of the total number of NEET aspirants have been covered so far. The remaining would be personally engaged over the phone in the coming days.

Activists and educationists as well as actors have joined the Chief Minister in appealing to the students not to lose hope but rather keep aloft the fighting spirit.

“Resorting to suicide is not the answer. The struggle against NEET demands the courage to fight. At the same time, students should also be aware of other avenues open to them. Admittedly, parental pressure and the collapse of dreams cherished from childhood pushes the young minds to take the extreme step. Herein comes the need to make them aware of the alternatives where they can blossom,” reasons educationist Prince Gajendra Babu, General Secretary of State Platform for Common School System.

Read:NEET: one more life lost in Tamil Nadu