Actor Suriya comes out against NEET; asks people to oppose the exam

Popular Tamil actor Suriya has voiced his support against conducting National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for admissions into medical colleges and tore into the educational policies of the Centre saying the government that should ensure everyone gets equal opportunities is implementing a system that creates a divid

Terming NEET as “manuneedhi exam”, Suriya, whose family runs Agaram Foundation that helps thousands of students from under-privileged sections pursue higher education, appealed everyone to join hands to raise voice against the exam, which he said, “destroys medical dream” of poor students.

In a hard-hitting statement on Sunday night a day after three students from Tamil Nadu died by suicide due to fear of NEET, Suriya attacked the government for asking students to come to a center to write the exam even while judiciary was conducting its proceedings through video conferencing for the “fear of life.”

“At the maximum, the news of students killing themselves due to fear of exams becomes the point of debate in the media for a day. The chanayakas who find spelling mistakes even in the death declaration of the students will debate the issue,” Suriya said in the statement.

This is not the first that Suriya is voicing concerns against the policies of the Union Government. Last year, the actor had issued a detailed statement against the draft New Education Policy (NEP) and he also came out against draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) rules, 2020.

In Sunday’s statement, Suriya also said people who do not know the realities faced by poor students are framing education policies. “Manuneedhi exams like NEET not just snatch the opportunities of our students but also their lives. Such incidents serve as life-long punishment for parents who lose their children to such exams. Parents and teachers should be vigilant and cautious as our educational system has no concern towards students,” Suriya said.

Tamil Nadu considers NEET discriminatory against students from rural areas who are pitted against those coming from the urban areas across the country, who according to the opponents of the entrance test, have better educational facilities.

“The Dronacharya of Mahabharat times just asked the thumb of hand as offering. But the modern Dronacharyas are asking even a sixth standard student to prove his eligibility by writing an exam. Even if someone crosses all such hurdles, they have powerful weapons like NEET, to get their dreams crushed,” the actor said.