Chennai, July 24:
S Manirathnam, brother of S Anitha, has joined protests in Delhi against the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), stating that the exam had “destroyed” his family and continues to disadvantage students from marginalised backgrounds.
Participating in demonstrations organised by the Cockroach Janata Party, Manirathnam said the opposition to NEET in Tamil Nadu began with students like his sister, whose death in 2017 became a turning point in the state’s resistance to the centralised medical entrance examination.
Anitha, a 17-year-old student from Ariyalur, had scored 1,176 out of 1,200 in her Class 12 State Board examinations and secured a high medical cut-off. However, after NEET was made mandatory, she was unable to obtain a medical seat as her preparation was based on the State Board syllabus. She later challenged NEET in court, seeking exemption for Tamil Nadu students, but did not receive relief and died by suicide on September 1, 2017.
Recalling her struggle, Manirathnam said Anitha’s aspiration to become a doctor was shaped by personal hardship, including the loss of their mother at a young age. He added that her fight against NEET symbolised the challenges faced by rural and economically weaker students.
Criticising the examination system, he pointed to alleged irregularities such as paper leaks and distant exam centre allocations, calling NEET a “failure model” that has affected lakhs of students. While reacting to demands for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, he said such a move would be only a “small step” and reiterated the demand for a complete exemption or ban on NEET.
The protest highlights the continuing political and social debate over NEET, with critics arguing that it undermines equitable access to medical education, particularly for students from rural and underprivileged backgrounds.