NEET aspirant suicide: A NEET aspirant from Tamil Nadu allegedly died by suicide fearing that she would fail in the medical entrance exam. The incident occurred on the day the Tamil Nadu Assembly adopted a Bill to dispense with the NEET, conducted for admission in medical courses nationwide. On September 12, a male student had died by suicide the same day NEET was conducted, fearing he may not be able to clear it.
*Trigger Warning: The article contains details of self-harm.
On Sunday, Sep 12, Kanimozhi took the National Eligibility Entrance Test. However, she was worried that her performance was not up to the mark. Her relatives confirmed that she was depressed over her performance. She was scared that despite scoring well in her Class XII examination, she would not be able to make a career in the field of medicine.
Kanimozhi went to sleep in her room and was found hanging from the ceiling on Monday morning. Her family claimed that she was a brilliant student but was worried about her NEET performance. The Vikramangal police are carrying out an investigation into the matter.
On Monday, Sep 13, the Tamil Nadu assembly adopted a Bill to dispense with the NEET and provide admission to medical courses on the basis of the marks secured in Class XII examination instead. Bills were adopted in 2017 for the same purpose during the AIADMK regime. But the President's assent was denied to them. This year, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin introduced the bill yet again. Parties, including the opposition AIADMK and its ally PMK supported it. It was therefore passed by a voice vote.
In a similar incident that took place on the day of the NEET, another aspirant from Tamil Nadu, S Dhanush died by suicide. He was about to appear for the examination a third time this year. Fearing a negative outcome, he decided to take away his life.
In 2020, a student from Delhi's LSR college, Aishwarya Reddy died by suicide because she could not afford to purchase a laptop for her online classes. She was entitled to the government's INSPIRE scholarship of Rs. 1.2 Lakh because of her exemplary performance in Class XII. But the receipt of the amount had been delayed. Her family had mortgaged their Telangana house to fund her education.
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