Hundreds of aspiring students from Tamil Nadu appearing for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), will now be forced to travel to other states in order to sit for the exams, after the Supreme Court rejected the petition requesting the exam centres to be placed in Tamil Nadu itself.
The Madras High Court had issued an order last week, that the NEET centres be placed within the state itself. As reported by News18, the Supreme Court however, based its rejection on the CBSE’s plea that it could not change the location of the exam centres at such “short notice”.
The students, who would otherwise be concentrating on studying for these exams, will now have the additional burden of trying to plan how to travel to the location of their allotted centres.
The Times of India interviewed a few parents of these students, who said that their children are extremely stressed by the apex court’s directive, especially since most trains – the easiest and fastest way to travel to neighbouring states – are overbooked on account of summer holidays.
V Chithra, the mother of Mithun from Trichy, had earlier booked train tickets and a room in a hotel in Ernakulam, the report states. However, when they received news of the petition for the Centres to be implemented in the state, she had cancelled both.
Even half a mark matters in NEET, which may cost my son his medical seat given the high level of competition. We fear that his performance may get affected by travel fatigue and pressure.V Chithra told The Times of India
Advocate P Guruswami, the petitioner for the exam centres to be placed within the state, told News18 that between 1,000 and 1,500 students will now be forced to travel to Ernakulum and other centres in Kerala.
He also said that only the students from Tamil Nadu aspiring to sit for the NEET have been given centres outside their state.
The report quotes him as also saying that considering Madras High Court’s directive was announced on 27 April, CBSE definitely had enough time to change the location of the exam centres.
“They delayed it and now tells the apex court that there is no time for re-alloting centres,” Guruswami told News18.
The move risks affecting students who come within the underprivileged bracket especially. Bharati Sri, a student appearing for the NEET said told News18:
“This is the most crucial time which demands all our concentration on the exam but now we have to worry about travelling to a different state.”
(With inputs from The Times of India and News18)
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