NEET a pervasive scam, stop defending it, Chief Minister Stalin tells Modi government

CHENNAI: Continuing his attack against NEET in the backdrop of the recent controversy surrounding allegations of discrepancies and malpractices, DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister said the national-level examination was masquerading as a measure of merit but has repeatedly revealed itself as a pervasive scam affecting all levels of society.

“The Union government must stop defending this anti-student, anti-social justice, and anti-poor NEET system,” Stalin added in a statement posted on his official social media handle.

In his statement, Stalin highlighted the recent cases, including the case in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home State Gujarat where the police have registered an FIR over allegations that invigilators tampered with OMR sheets in exchange for money, involving cheques worth several crore rupees and eight blank cheques.

“This conspiracy, implicating a school principal, a physics teacher, and several NEET coaching centres, underscores the urgent need for systemic change,” Stalin said.

The ongoing controversies around NEET highlight its “fundamentally inequitable nature”, he said, adding: “In a society where education has been denied for thousands of years, we should offer more opportunities for advancement of the oppressed. On the contrary, NEET hinders the opportunities of such students.

“From martyr Anitha to the countless students who have tragically taken their own lives, we have witnessed enough,” he said.

Despite the Union Education Minister's defense of the National Testing Agency (NTA), recent events paint a different picture, and the Union government must stop defending the NEET system, said the DMK chief.