NEET: HC wants to know about steps taken to prevent tragedies

Expressing deep concern over the suicide of 17-year-old S Anitha, who was an MBBS aspirant, the Madras High Court today sought to know from the Tamil Nadu government about the steps it had taken to prevent such tragedies in the future.
Anitha, the daughter of a daily wage earner, allegedly hanged herself at her house in Ariyalur district on September 1.
Justice N Kirubakaran had, on August 24, directed the government to provide counselling to the students, who failed in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for admission in the MBBS course and also to their parents.
Today, the judge sought to know whether his earlier order had been considered by the parties concerned or not.

He also asked the government whether it had roped in prominent personalities of the society to advise the children, who could not crack the NEET, in a bid to ensure that they did not take any wrong or extreme steps.
The judge also sought to know if the state government had started coaching centres to prepare the students in the rural areas for the common eligibility test and asked the authorities concerned to file their response bySeptember 14.