Chennai: Nearly 1.17 lakh aspirants sat for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) in over 200 centres in Tamilnadu on Sunday, amid protests by various student organisations demanding scrapping of the exam in the wake of five suicide incidents in the State.
The exams were held in the backdrop of four students, including three on Saturday alone, ending their lives due to fear over cracking the exams, resulting in political outrage, with demand to abolish the exams gaining momentum. Earlier, a girl student in Coimbatore committed suicide last month due to anxiety over the exam.
While demanding total abolition of NEET, some political party leaders at least wanted the Centre to exempt Tamilnadu from NEET this year, in the wake of suicides and COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, scores of members of DYFI and SFI courted arrest for staging protest demonstrations and resorting to road blockade agitations in various parts of the State demanding scrapping of the NEET exams as it poses more burden on the students.
They also shouted slogans denouncing the Centre for holding the exams in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic and the students mentally not preparing to face the exams.
Majority of the students, emerging out after the three-hour exam in Chennai, said the papers were easy, while some said the physics questions were moderate and exuded confidence of cracking NEET this year with good marks.
The physics, chemsitry and biology subjects were quite easy and questions were mainly from NCERT syllabus.
Another student said biology was very easy when compared to physics and chemistry. She also said the questions were easy than expected. “Not so tough, not so easy”, said another student, while some others said it was a bit tough.
About 1.17 lakh aspirants took the exams for around 7,000 seats, including 3,250 in 26 government medical colleges, in more than 200 centres.
From this year, 7.5 per cent of seats will be reserved for students who have studied from Class 6 to 12 in government schools.
Though the exams commenced at 2 pm, students were allowed entry right from 1100 hrs after thermal scanning, by following strict physical distancing norms and SOP put in place by the government.
Since the entry to exam centres commenced at 1100 hrs, parents were a concerned lot as some of the students had to take the exams without lunch as carrying lunch boxes were banned.
TV reports said that in one centre, a married woman was asked to remove her mangalsutra before being allowed entry into the centre as wearing of jewellery was also prohibited.
With staggered entry, the medical aspirants, were allowed to carry water in plain bottles, sanitisers and face masks were a must.
Mobile phones were also not allowed inside the exam centre. Across the country, nearly 15 lakh aspirants appeared for the NEET exams, which was twice postponed in view of the Covid-19 pandemic-induced lockdown, in more than 3,800 centres.
Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal and leaders of various political parties wished the students all the very best and good luck in the exams.