The Tamil Nadu Health Department has launched a counselling initiative for students from the State, who have not cleared the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), the results of which were announced earlier this week.
Health Minister Ma.Subramanian said that of the 1.44 lakh students from Tamil Nadu who took up NEET, over half, 54% have cleared it. “As a next step, we have collated the details of 65,823 students who did not clear the exam and will reach out to them through the State health helplines at the earliest,” he said.
Counsellors from the State Health Helpline at 104 and the TeleMANAS 14416 helpline have been reaching out to students.
“Counsellors will speak to them about their mental health, opportunities for higher education, and the avenues they can explore,” he said. The counsellors can also speak to their parents if needed, he added.
In May this year, Mr. Subramanian had said that counsellors had begun to reach out to students who took up NEET and had managed to speak to 54,374 students. “Of these, 177 students were identified as ‘high risk’ since they were struggling with their mental health. Counsellors have been regularly speaking to them, and district-level counsellors have also visited their homes to address their concerns,” he said.
The Health Minister lauded J. Prabanjan from Tamil Nadu who topped the NEET rank list, and also congratulated three other students from Tamil Nadu who are in the top 10 ranks at the all-India Level.
“Tamil Nadu continues to be strongly opposed to NEET. We have also opposed the proposed move of the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) to hold common counselling. This will greatly affect our 7.5% reservations in medical admissions for students from government schools and marginalised backgrounds,” the Minister said.
With regard to additional seats for medical admissions this year, 450 new seats will be available in private medical colleges, 50 seats at the Government Dental College in Pudukottai, and 50 seats at the ESIC Medical College, Chennai. “By the end of next week, we will begin the application process,” he said.
