By UNI
NEW DELHI: Describing as 'disappointing' the Supreme Court stay on Madras High Court's order to Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on arranging more National Eligibility and Entrance Test centres for students of Tamil Nadu , the National Students Union of India on Saturday demanded that the BJP Government at the Centre facilitate NEET Exam within Tamil Nadu or bear expenses for students forced to take the exam outside the state.
In a statement issued here, AICC joint secretary in charge of the NSUI Ruchi Gupta slammed the role of the CBSE in the matter.
She also charged the BJP government with attacking institutions of higher learning, curtailing student rights, undermining free expression and clamping down on individual liberties.
''The last minute stay by Supreme Court on the Madras High Court's order to CBSE on arranging more NEET centres for students of Tamil Nadu is highly disappointing. This puts students and their families to tremendous inconvenience and expense at a time when all their energies should be focussed on an important and highly competitive exam."
"This also imperils the future of students and makes us question the grounds on which the CBSE decided to appeal against a pro-student order by the Madras High Court. The CBSE is an institution that is responsible for the future of millions of young students in the country. It is highly condemnable that CBSE lost sight of this fact,'' Ms Gupta said.
''The NSUI demands Modi led BJP government should direct the CBSE to immediately set up additional centres for the NEET exam. Failing this, the Central government should bear the travel and lodging expenses of Tamil Nadu students and their guardians travelling to their assigned NEET centres that are outside of their state,'' Ms Gupta said adding that ''the NSUI will set up helpdesks for students of Tamil Nadu being forced to take their exam outside of TN.''
Slamming the CBSE for failing to allocate sufficient centres within Tamil Nadu, the AICC joint secretary said, ''The CBSE under the BJP Government has proved to be incompetent and against students. This is the second instance in just over a month where the CBSE has caused great inconvenience and avoidable stress to students and their families. The XII standard Maths and Economic paper leaks in the last week of March was the previous instance."
"Speaking to the press, Sanyam Bharadwaj, NEET Director (New Delhi), stated that the number of NEET applicants from Tamil Nadu this year was 1.1 lakhs. The CBSE received these applications and collected Rs 1,400 in fees from each of these applicants a full six weeks before the exam date. Armed with advance knowledge of the number of applicants, there was no excuse for the CBSE not to have allocated sufficient centres within Tamil Nadu.''
She said that according to media reports, the CBSE office in Chennai had stated that 5,371 students from the state will have to write exams outside the state while the the NEET Director stated that 1,000 - 1,500 students were allotted centres outside the state.
''Why is the CBSE unable to clearly state the number of students from Tamil Nadu allotted centres outside the state? This confusion clearly points to the sorry state of affairs within the CBSE,'' she said.
Charging the Modi Government with attacking institutions of higher learning, curtailing student rights, undermining free expression and clamping down on individual liberties, she said, ''The Modi government is letting the CBSE destroy the dreams and aspirations of Tamil Nadu students. This appears to be Modi's vendetta against the people of Tamil Nadu for protesting against him during his last visit to the state. Steps like these, whether motivated by vindictive politics or driven by sheer incompetency, go against the principles of federalism enshrined in the Constitution."
''The students of Tamil Nadu as well as those in the rest of the country are watching how the Modi led BJP government is attacking institutions of higher learning, curtailing student rights, undermining free expression and clamping down on individual liberties. They are worried at the undermining of their education by the obscurantist statements being made on a daily basis by BJP Education Ministers and angered by the saffronisation agenda of this regime. Re-exam warrior Modi and his party will be taught a lesson by wise students of India soon.''
