Parents to approach PMO, organize rally to protest NEET from this year

Nagpur: Parents aggrieved by Supreme Court’s decision to make NEET the sole gateway to undergraduate MBBS admission from this year itself have decided to band together for one last push. An informal association of parents, led primarily by doctors, are writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and holding a protest rally this Saturday to press for their demand.Dr Sanjay Deshpande, well-known medical practioner and a core member of the association said, “We are not against NEET. We oppose it being the single CET from 2016 itself when it should have ideally been implemented from 2018. We will give a representation to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and hope to get a positive response.” The association has also given a call to other parents asking to join the cause.
The May 14 rally will start at Variety Square and end at RBI Square. Dr Deshpande emphasized the choice of locations by saying “We’ll start with blessings of Mahatma Gandhi and end with that of Dr B R Ambedkar.”
Their association will definitely need all the blessings and divine intervention possible as after the SC verdict the road ahead seems shut. They believe a “legislative intervention” is more likely to offer some hope. The parents met on Thursday evening and discussed developments at Parliament where MPs expressed concern over NEET.
The draft of the letter to be sent to PM talks about suggestions that can help the parents’ cause. It states, “after Parliament session is over Central government under demand of state can pass notification to be signed by the President of India.” The association feels that Centre can promulgate an ordinance to exempt states from NEET in 2016. The want that private medical colleges and deemed university colleges seats to be filled by state CET (85%) and the rest 15% by NEET.
Parents also said that in rural area, students are not ready to take on NEET from this year. A parent said, “There are hardly any CBSE schools in rural areas and there’s extreme shortage of NCERT books. With no coaching classes as well, how can these students compete in NEET?” The association has also decided to give a representation to city MP Nitin Gadkari this weekend and urge him to raise the issue at Centre.
TOI had reported on how SC’s decision has put many students, who had prepared for MHT-CET, in a fix. With hardly 70-odd days in hand, these students have to learn fast a new approach to solve NEET.
(With inputs by Trishala Dahit)
‘Steep fees for crash course’
With just 70-odd days remaining for NEET Phase-2, some coaching classes have sensed an opportunity to cash in on this. A few parents told TOI that lesser known classes are offering crash courses for NEET Phase-2 charging anywhere between 15,000 and 20,000 for this.
While there is nothing illegal about this, some parents say it reeks of opportunism.
On the other hand there are some coaching classes that have decided to teach their old students for free, as the change in exam is not the students’ fault. One such coaching class owner said, “I have sent messages to my students informing them of the plan. My team is working on schedule for the crash course.”
Nagpur preferred AIPMT centre
The city is becoming a preferred destination for competitive undergraduate exams. For the All-India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT) Nagpur attracted almost the same number of candidates as Mumbai.
In all 18,752 candidates registered for the May 1 exam from Nagpur while 20,339 registered in Mumbai. The only other centre in state was Thane.
According to CBSE, total 47,215 candidates had registered for the exam. TOI had reported earlier about the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE-Main), where an unprecedented 33,000 plus students appeared from Nagpur. The city’s central location with excellent transport connectivity, good lodging infrastructure and relatively shorter intracity distances compared to Mumbai, make it an ideal choice.