NEET Director Sanyam Bharadwaj told TNM that there was a 31% increase in the number of NEET candidates from TN and despite increasing centres, they were not able to accommodate around 1000 students.
Thousands of CBSE students from Tamil Nadu being told to appear for the NEET centres in states such as Karnataka, Kerala and Rajasthan has sparked massive outrage from all quarters. In addition to dealing with the stress of giving the examination, students now also have to worry about the logistics of travelling to the location.
The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s office has announced a toll-free helpline — 14417 — to assist students. The state government claimed that they did not know how many students were affected by the allocation of centres, and said that only the CBSE was aware of the same.
The government has also announced an allowance of Rs 1000 to the affected students and 2nd class railway tickets.
Speaking to TNM, Sanyam Bharadwaj, NEET Director (New Delhi) said, "Last year, 82,000 candidates appeared for NEET from Tamil Nadu itself. We were able to accommodate all of them within the state. However, this year the number of candidates have risen by 31%. We increased the number of centres in Tamil Nadu by 25 and have even asked centres to accommodate students to its full capacity. After taking these measures, we have been able to accommodate 1,10,000 students within the state. The rest, maybe about 1000 or 1,500, were given the nearest available centres in neighbouring cities," he said.
He further stated that decision to allocate centres outside Tamil Nadu had only been taken as all centres were filled up in the State, and that the candidates were allotted centres in the city nearest to them.
These numbers, however, are varied. According to reports, as many as 5371 students have been allotted centres in Ernakulam, Kerala.
One of the students who was allotted a centre in Kerala instead of in Tirunelveli, where she had opted for, told Puthiya Thalamurai, “They gave it to me in Tirunelveli district only. I applied for Tirunelveli, Madurai, Coimbatore only. We thought we would get Tirunelveli but instead got it in Kerala. Because of this, I have to go with my parents the previous day itself. If I had got Tirunelveli, they would have taken me from the class itself. That would have been proper. At least from now on, in the forthcoming NEET examinations, they shouldn’t do like this and give correctly.”
Since the students have been left in the lurch, Twitter users decided to pool in to help underprivileged students who may not be able to travel to their centres in other states.
Actor Prasanna also tweeted that he would like to sponsor the travel expenses of two underprivileged students.
“Wud love to sponsor travel expenses for atleast 2 underprevilleged students or Govt school students appearing for #NEET this year. Inbox me the details like hall ticket, place where ur exam hall assigned will book the tickets for u.”
Wud love to sponsor travel expenses for atleast 2 underprevilleged students or Govt school students appearing for #NEET this year. Inbox me the details like hall ticket, place where ur exam hall assigned will book the tickets for u.
— Prasanna (@Prasanna_actor) May 4, 2018
Other users have also offered to sponsor a student, or have offered help in the cities that the students have been allotted centres in.
Students who would like to appear for NEET exam in centers in other states and can't afford the travel charges, I can book tickets for the student and one guardian.
Needed Documents:
Exam ID
ID of the student and accompanying guardian#NEET #NEETexam #NEET2018— Neehar NLN (@neehar011) May 4, 2018
TN Students who are allocated #NEET centers in Ernakulam may contact my friend @selvaarangesan for any assistance.
Contact: +91-8943268290#NEETExam #Verified
Thank you #Selva for your big help @gvprakash @ThanthiTV @PTTVOnlineNews @ikamalhaasan @erasaravanan @Actor_Vivek
— Anand (@im_sanand) May 4, 2018
I can sponsor one NEET exam student to travel and stay and food. That's how much I can afford. I'm not rich but can help one student. #NEET exam.— Gayathri Raguramm (@gayathriraguram) May 4, 2018
Wud love to sponsor travel expenses for atleast 1 underprevilleged students or Govt school students appearing for #NEET this year. Inbox me the details like hall ticket, place where ur exam hall assigned will book the tickets for u.
— Johnnyvfx (@Johnsuganth) May 4, 2018
@beemji Please let me know if anyone need support to attend #NEET outside #tamilnadu.
I can support one student and guardian with all travel expenditure.#WeForTN
Contact: 7411175167
— Shah Faizal (@shahfaizalc) May 4, 2018
I would love to sponsor travel and lodging expenses of one or two #Tamil underprivileged students who travels to other states for #NEET exam. Please Inbox me with your cell number, hall ticket and itinerary.
I can’t book tickets but reimburse the money to your bank account.
— Lawrence Manickam (@LarryManickam) May 4, 2018
If there is no option for students, and if they are forced to travel to other states to write NEET exams. We shall do all we can to collect funds and bear the travel expenses of the students. the least we can do to our students. #SaveNEETAspirants
— Prashanth Rangaswamy (@itisprashanth) May 4, 2018
The Rajasthan Tamil Sangam in Jaipur has also offered to help students travelling to Rajasthan for writing NEET with accommodation and travel.
The Rajasthan Tamil Sangam can be contacted here:
Mr. Muruganandam - 9790783187
Mrs. Soundarvalli - 8696922117
Mr.Bharthi - 7357023549
Read: NEET outrage: 1500 students to write outside TN, says NEET director