Pondicherry students stage demo against NEET

Students of several educational institutions staged a demonstration here today to protest against NEET based selection of students to medical colleges.

Raising slogans against the Centre and the Puducherry government, the students claimed that NEET-based system of selection should be done away with.

The protesters also sought justice for the death of Dalit medical aspirant Anitha, who allegedly hanged herself at her house in Ariyalur district on September 1 reportedly upset over not getting an MBBS seat.

Anitha was reportedly upset after it became known that Tamil Nadu will not be exempted from the ambit of National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test (NEET).

She had earlier moved the Supreme Court against NEET.

Around 40 volunteers of Puducherry unit of Naam Tamizhar Katchi who staged a sit-in protest at the Head Post office were taken into custody.

Students of both government-run and private professional colleges and polytechnics gathered at Pattanikadai junction and took out a procession to the Head Post office covering a distance of more than two kms.

The territorial government had admitted students to the medical courses during the 2017-2018 academic year based on the merits the students had scored in the NEET test.

There are seven private medical colleges and one run by the Puducherry government.