NEET 2018: The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) is scheduled to be conducted tomorrow, on May 6. (Representational image)
NEET 2018: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami has made an announcement regarding provision of Rs 1,000 monetary assistance along with the train fair to every NEET aspirant from the state who will travel to other states to appear for the exam. He added that these students and one attendant travelling with them would be provided second class train fare and given an assistance of Rs 1,000 towards other expenditure. He said the direction was given following reports that those allotted centres outside Tamil Nadu were facing difficulties.
It was due to the failure of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) authorities to provide adequate number of examination centres in the state, that more than 2,000 candidates now have to forcefully travel to other states for the exam, scheduled for May 6. Most of the students will have to travel to Kerala and Karnataka, and some even to Rajasthan.
The CM said that students could get the train fare and Rs 1,000 assistance from the district Chief Education Officer through their school either before or after their journey to write NEET. Palaniswami’s announcement comes a day after PMK demanded that the state government bear the travel expenses of students who have been allotted centres in other States. A section of students, about 200 from Tamil Nadu, have been allotted centres in Kerala and Rajasthan to write NEET, according to the PMK.
When a petition was filed in the Madras High Court against centres outside the State, the court had asked the
union government to allot the centres in Tamil Nadu itself. However, it was “shocking” that it was stayed by the
Supreme Court, the PMK leader, who is also the Dharmapuri Lok Sabha MP, had said.
“Tamil Nadu government should bear the air travel and lodging expenditure of the students if it could not get the
Union government to allocate centres within the state for students,” he had said The PMK leader had alleged that allotting NEET centres for Tamil Nadu students in Rajasthan and Kerala was “social injustice.”