Chennai: Impromptu Protest Against NEET Surprises Cops
None of the youth were allowed to pass through the gates and taken into custody: Reports
CHENNAI: Police pickets outside the gates of Raj Bhavan were taken by surprise when a group of youth owing allegiance to the Student Federation of India (SFI) landed there on Saturday with a view to walking through the gates and staging a protest demanding the abolition of NEET (the entrance exam for medical admission), which has been scheduled for Sunday.
The security personnel rushed in to stop the protesting youth who came to the gates by foot, motorcycles and other modes of transport to converge there and then enter the premises in Guindy.
None of the youth were allowed to pass through the gates and taken into custody. They were removed from the scheme in waiting vans.
NEET has been a sensitive issue in the State ever since it was launched in the country first in 2013 and protests have been recurring occurrence every year. All political parties, including the ruling TVK, have promised to put an end to the examination by various means.
The main reason for the political parties and other activist groups to protest against NEET and demand its abolition is that it does not provide a level playing field for medical aspirants. Students from impoverished homes in the lower rungs of the socio-economic ladder of society would not be able to pay the exorbitant fees collected by private coaching centres.